Author’s note: This article is a good shot in the arm for those who don’t know why Florida is making me sick. The policies in Florida are making a lot of people sick and I hope to unmask what’s being covered up.

Did you know that 47 percent of Floridians have not been vaccinated?

Were you aware that every county in the state of Florida is listed as having high levels of community transmission according to data from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the state of Florida has the highest Covid numbers in the country?

We are #1, an honor I’d prefer to decline, thank you very much. One has to wonder how these statistics haven’t scared some of our elected officials straight.

“In Florida, the number of new cases reported over a week jumped by more than 50% in the week ending July 29, according to a weekly situation report published by the state’s health department. More than 110,000 new Covid-19 cases were reported in that week, compared to more than 73,000 the week prior. In early June, the state was reporting roughly 11,000 new cases weekly.”

Source: As Covid-19 cases surge in Florida, governor says parents should decide whether their children wear masks to school

The Florida Republican’s fundraising group is selling T-shirts and beer koozies. You can go online and purchase a tee-shirt that says, “Don’t Fauci My Florida”. You may have heard of Dr. Fauci, a world-renowned expert on Covid, hand-picked by our former president. The previous administration undermined, invalidated, or diminished anyone who didn’t toe the line. You may think this administration is asleep at the wheel but do not for one moment. Production of beer koozies that say, “How the hell am I going to be able to drink a beer with a mask on?” are a top priority. I saw a cap that read,” Make America Florida.”  

Florida has the highest Covid numbers in the country.

Its elected officials are brainstorming tailgate merchandise ideas for their website while citizens beg for some act of decisive leadership that will address the unvaccinated elephant in the room. What’s wrong with this picture?  E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!

I don’t recall exactly when wearing a mask became the highly charged controversy it is, though I remember it was sometime between 2016 and 2020. Those who are opposed to wearing this simple cloth covering feel the government has no right to tell them what to do with their bodies; actually, they feel the government has no right to tell them what to do. Period. The politicizing came when Republicans in the White House wanted us to think everything was perfectly fine and that Covid would be over by March, famous last words.

A mask is now so much more than a face covering. It’s become a bone of contention. Silly me, I thought it was a protective covering to filter out harmful germs. Surgeons have been wearing them forever and they do so to protect the patient. So why are we all in a tussle about wearing a mask?

It’s a temporary sentence just until the numbers start going down the other side of the mountain they are currently climbing up. It is quintessential Florida politics to dig heels in on a point that was invented by a predecessor just to create tension and earn brownie points in the party.

So here’s the real question. Is Ron DeSantis governing Florida or running for President 2024?

Why can’t our governor simply govern? According to the National Governors Association, “Governors serve as the chief executive officers of the 50 states. As state managers, governors are responsible for implementing state laws, and overseeing the operation of the state executive branch.”

So why isn’t he implementing laws, rather than allowing parents to decide? While some parents may be thrilled with the freedom this suggestion presents, others will be tied up in knots about it.

For working parents, keeping their children home presents enormous challenges. Children thrive in social environments, with their classmates and parents will undoubtedly feel pressure to send children, even if it goes against their comfort with the Covid threat.

His latest indecision is to allow parents to decide whether their children wear a mask to school or not. What could go wrong? The less he mandates, the less flack he receives. I predict increased Covid cases, or parents keeping their children home because they don’t feel school is a safe environment. I predict it will go sideways in about 10 seconds. Why can’t he make decisions that protect all of us and don’t require quite so much interpretation? Can you imagine being a teacher in a classroom with this kind of chaos swirling around; parents feeling torn, children becoming victims of this pandemic once again.

Is the desire to keep tourists happy more important than the need to keep taxpayers healthy? Florida has welcomed planes full of people and allowed them to vacation in whatever manner they desire. Yes, rules were in place but enforcement was a concept. I walk down the streets of my beautiful village by the sea and it may as well be spring break. Streets are packed and have been for months and months.

Our leaders have turned wearing masks into a heated issue, and July in South Florida is plenty hot. The only thing packing more fire is the issue of vaccinations; to be or not to be? That is the question.

There is far too much unnecessary background noise attached to getting vaccinated and wearing masks. Yesterday, I was reading the New York Times and I saw a reference to this wave as the “pandemic of the unvaccinated.” If you do a little surfing on the internet, you will quickly find that our government doesn’t appear to be all that concerned, but on a positive note, koozie sales are soaring.

I love living in Florida; sunshine, palm trees, and blue skies, but there is a price to pay. Our leadership in this state isn’t doing everything possible to make clear and obvious guidelines. The message about vaccinations has become fodder for their fundraising flea market. Selling silly merchandise undermines the significance of vaccinating. Not the number of people getting vaccinated is starting to go up a wee bit.

People are afraid, while the good ol’ boys in Tallahassee think of new ways to joke about something that so clearly is a matter of life and death. The motivation for many decisions appears to be based on either jockeying for the next political position to hold or strategizing how best to undermine the opposition, the other party, “the enemy.” It’s kill or be killed politics and people are dying because of it.

“The CDC warns lawmakers that delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox and may make people sicker than original Covid. It has a longer transmission window and may make older people sicker. Health officials said federal and state leaders should communicate to the public the benefits of getting vaccinated.” ~ CNN website

On July 19, 2021, the Orlando Sentinel reported that Governor Ron DeSantis wouldn’t commit to holding more events promoting Covid-19 vaccinations and blamed public distrust of “experts” as the main issue. It’s always someone else’s fault, isn’t it? Well, he learned that from the master. Whatever happened to using your platform to do no harm or perhaps actually serve the interest of all of the people who elected you? My frustration with this administration is growing, perhaps at a higher rate than the Covid numbers, and it grows every day, just as they do.

Peace out.