Since the pandemic started, our country has been divided over many COVID-19 related issues.
- Is the virus real or fake?
- The virus is just the flu and we are overreacting.
- We need/do not need a shutdown.
Most recently, we have seen the mask-wearing debate take center stage. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends face coverings to stop the spread of coronavirus, and the data behind wearing facemasks supports this recommendation.
So why have we seen division in America and especially in Hays? It truly has become a political boxing match between two schools of thought, and COVID-19 has become the referee.
Rather than all of us focusing on stopping the virus itself, we have divided ourselves ready to fight in many ways. In one corner, we have the people who trust in the science behind this and the recommendations from the health experts. They believe the collective good for the community trumps individual freedoms in certain situations (people who support mandatory face mask-wearing).
In the other corner, we have people who believe more in their individual liberty and have much distrust in our government. They especially do not trust the opposing party and the media (people against mandatory face mask-wearing).
Of course, there are outliers who can believe in one thing and do the other, but the majority is split this way.
So, who is right? That is the question we’ve debated, and that is why we continue to struggle with this pandemic.
What do the residents of Hays think?
On Thursday night (Aug. 27), there was a Hays City Commission meeting, with the highlight of the meeting discussing the extension of the face-mask ordinance in Hays. There were two petitions sent to the city commissioners about the topic. One petition was against extending the mask mandate, while the other supported extending a mask mandate in Hays.
The petition against the mandate had 655 supporters, while the petition to extend the mandate had 520 supporters. When I emailed Hays Mayor Shaun Musil earlier in the week, he told me that “support has been very mixed.” It seems the petitions and comments proved this.
I took a deeper look into the petition and found comments that support the two schools of thought.
One person said, “Masks don’t work. It’s the Liberals pushing this to make people mad and make Trump look bad. It’s our choice!” Another stated, “Government’s job is to ensure our freedoms are protected. We are responsible for our own personal health. Shutdowns & Mandates in regard to a virus with a near 100% recovery rate never should have taken place, especially with known treatment plans. Stop the madness!”
The supporters of the extension of the mask mandate said, “Masks are for the greater good of all our community and humanity. One death, one person impacted from life-long complications, is one too many.” They continue to say, “Masks really do work but will only work if everyone wears them. Let’s pull together and handle this pandemic before it’s gotten way out of hand. Let’s do our part so businesses can stay open, so we can help the economy and protect each other”
City commissioners eventually voted 3-2 to extend the mask mandate until early October. Some commissioners spoke during the meeting how residents of Hays had accused them of being a catalyst for children or teens committing suicide, how they were ruining people’s lives.
A deeper look into the causes
Why has a pandemic become political? Why do people not believe facts and science in a time like this?
I believe it is because of two things: the election and the discrediting of the media. Democrats and Republicans alike have used coronavirus to rally their bases. Republicans will state that if Democrats control Congress and the White House, we must prepare for more shutdowns and individual liberties being stripped. Democrats claim that a vote for Donald Trump would be a vote for weak leadership and more misinformation. So instead of working together to address the pandemic, we have gone into election mode ready to battle for our candidates.
When it comes to the media, there seems to be a political split in the credible information received during COVID-19. To best understand this, we have to go back to the start of the Trump Administration.
For many years, top governmental officials, especially President Trump, have discredited main news sources. When the president calls news sources critical of him “fake news,” it creates only a few avenues for many people to become informed.
As we found, the small list of acceptable news, according to President Trump, has promoted biased, unfactual news which only divided us more in a time when we needed to come together. In some cases, people only trusted the president, which led to some people drinking bleach and thinking that the virus would magically go away.
It is dangerous for supporters of President Trump to only trust news that is supportive of him. It is dangerous for supporters of Joe Biden to only trust news that is supportive of him. In fact, it is very dangerous for any person to just listen to Fox News, One America News, CNN, MSNBC or the president during a time like this because everyone has a bias.
When Fox News says liberals are hurting the president for pushing what the health and disease experts want, it is dangerous for citizens of Hays.
When MSNBC calls for complete total shutdowns, it is dangerous for the citizens of Hays.
How do you balance this?
Make yourself aware of the biases you have and that the news sources have. Check the credibility before you hit share.
In a time of doubt, trust historically credible sources for news.
Bradley DeMers is a senior studying political science at FHSU. He is a former Student Government Association president and has worked for politicians in both main political parties.