Tennessee's COVID19 numbers are spiking, but this time, the bulk of cases are hitting rural areas like DeKalb County where we live. We've had 17 deaths here, and I'm afraid to speculate how many more families in our community will have to face incredible loss before this pandemic is brought under control.
Governor Bill Lee flatly refuses to issue a mask mandate, even though the White House has given him the directive to do so according to a couple of verified news reports I've read in recent days. He insists that people are going to do the right thing when exercising their personal freedoms and says we should give people the space to make their own choices. Funny thing, though, is how his belief in personal liberty doesn't extend to women who need abortions, but that's another basket of mess for another day's words.
Monday, Tennessee reported more than 3,300 new cases of COVID19, which is the one-day record thus far in the pandemic. People who have hung their hat on patriotism, community, and living "the golden rule" would just do anything to help their neighbors and be a good citizen except wear a mask. Governor Lee has delegated the decision-making for mask mandates and restrictions on gatherings to leaders at the local level, and for little towns that mostly run themselves and don't generally require a lot of hard-core leadership, being tough and sticking with unpopular decisions for sake of public safety are easier said than done.
