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FEELING SAFE YET?
The survey that asked Sangamon County residents how they felt heading into Phase Three of the governor's reopening plan included a question about when you would feel safe, which seems odd ("Will Springfield come out?, June 4). Instead of offering options for answers based on a certain time period, wouldn't it have been better to have options based on medical data, such as when a vaccine is available or when a cure is available? I think you would gather more insightful data that way.
Jean Richards
Via illinoistimes.com
CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU
Regarding Jerald Jacobs' letter ("Protection or repression?, May 14), the correct answer is resoundingly protection.
Were it not for one major fallacy with Mr. Jacobs' opinion, he would have some valid points. But researchers simply don't know that much about immunity to the COVID-19 virus, so there is never any guarantee that having been previously infected with it and subsequently recovering provides assurance that immunity has now been achieved. Researchers everywhere are trying to make people realize that they just don't know enough about this entirely new virus to be able to make that kind of educated conclusion.
Until proven otherwise, people can still get infected with the virus a second time, and they therefore can still pose a risk of infecting others. That is why Governor JB Pritzker is trying to protect all Illinoisans from the continued spread of this virus by continuing to require that certain businesses and other activities be halted. In addition, we should continue to protect ourselves and others by requiring masks in public places.
It amounts to the preservation of life, and that is what Governor Pritzker is trying to accomplish for all Illinoisans. Following advisers who are highly qualified health professionals and making decisions based upon their sound advice is something we desperately need to see happen at the federal level, where we see politics and concerns over the economy receiving more priority than science.
Without life itself, what good are a person's rights? And for that matter, what good is a robust economy if you are not alive to enjoy it? In all cases, even rights and the economy are secondary to the sustainment of life. The old saying "you can't take it with you when you go" is often said about a person's wealth at the time of their death. It has no less relevance about a person's rights, either.
Doesn't anyone believe that Governor Pritzker wants us all to enjoy a healthy economy? But it becomes self-defeating when life and health are sacrificed as a result. I think Governor Pritzker has been asking us all to maybe get out of ourselves a little and be more willing to sacrifice some of our rights as individuals, if it means benefitting everyone collectively, by slowing the spread of this virus and minimizing continued suffering and death.
It may help if more people tried seeing it more from that standpoint. Your rights and personal wealth don't mean a thing if you're already dead.
Mark Schmidt
Springfield
