Support the A County Mask Mandate

[Teresa]

Science does not compromise. Nor does truth. Or facts.

We can only do our best. Stay as informed as possible. Don't feed the conspiracy crap.

 

[mputnal]

Teresa, do you believe that science is perfect knowledge about all things? I have an education in biological and chemical science and I can assure you that science will never be able to answer all the mysteries of the natural world. "Better science" is only going to happen if we as humans are able to believe in some sort of purpose to life. If there is a purpose to life then there is a value to life. That value can be cultural, spiritual and natural. Your message above seems to suggest that if we humans do not believe in science as an absolute truth then we have no value. It is a divisive message! It only serves the purpose to put down groups of people. Of course science is our ability to try and understand the complexity of the natural world but if we humans have equal value then we must respect those groups that place value in cultural and spiritual guidance. Your message that science does not compromise is not helpful in solving problems together as a collective value of life and truth. It actually has an "authoritarian" ring to it. I see this happening on both "sides" of our political divide. We try to justify our opinion at the expense of others that we don't understand or have disconnected from. If we want a "better" world then we must simply be "better" than this. We are all to blame. As a white male I have a much longer row to hoe as my Granny Pearl taught me a half century ago and I had no idea what she meant. My grandmother only got thru about the 10th grade of high school and I can assure you she had more "facts" about how to live life than science "knows" about life...

 

[Jenksy]

As a white male I have a much longer row to hoe

We all feel the depth of your pain.

Science is a process toward truth. It doesn't take sides and it shouldn't be political. Keep your religion away from it unless you want to get past the shallow arguments and pursue deeper philosophical truths. Something I'm sure your granny wasn't able to do and apparently neither are you.

 

[elgordoboy]

Science compromises all the time, certain branches anyhow. Water is going to boil at the same temperature at the same level above sea under similar pressure conditions etc. So I guess that’s not a compromise, but the science of epidemiology say? Seems that something like that is built on compromise and malleability, it would be worse than useless otherwise. It would be detrimental. This reminds me of a friendly discussion we all had on the THEORY of evolution years ago. It isn’t the FACT of evolution, simply a strong suspicion of what occurred and what fits observations at present until other observations come along and provide better detail, or don’t. It won’t be settled unless we get a time machine or answers in the afterlife. Science is full of compromise.

 

[elgordoboy]

We all feel the depth of your pain.

Science is a process toward truth. It doesn't take sides and it shouldn't be political. Keep your religion away from it unless you want to get past the shallow arguments and pursue deeper philosophical truths. Something I'm sure your granny wasn't able to do and apparently neither are you.

The guy’s response was polite. There’s a general lack of respect around here that’s gotten worse, I’ve been a perpetrator I admit. It’s particularly egregious when the disrespect is in response to a measured and thoughtful response whether that response can be deemed right or wrong. It’s bully behavior and Counterproductive these days.

 

[mputnal]

Jensky, do you believe that morality is an absolute truth and you are the beholder of such truth? It's not and your not and I can prove it if you disagree but for now the discussion is about whether science is an absolute truth. It's not. Science is an observation, identification, experimentation and theoretical explanation of natural phenomena. It serves to try and distinguish between a fact and a fallacy but by definition is it not an absolute truth because it is never finished. We will eventually get a vaccine for Covid-19 but it will not be the end of pandemics. So when I say that compromise is an important function of democracy it means that consideration is given to both sides of an argument. Compromise serves as an ability for society to reduce the "demand" attitude in either "side" of an argument. I have noticed that some in this forum such as yourself are quick to demand others to conform to your opinion and refuse to give others any consideration. The fact is you do not know me and of course you do not know my grandmother so your opinion has value only to yourself. I guess if you feel better about yourself then there is that but your demand for others to conform to your value is a big part of the cause of division within our society. When you say that you are "sure" of something that you believe to be true without fact or knowledge then you are getting further from the truth. Science is not the beholder of all truth. The science that we have observed on this planet does not work the same way in the universe. Neither you or me are the beholders of all truth. We can represent our values but we must not believe ourselves to be so important that we convince ourselves we are beholders of all truth. I agree with you that science is a process toward truth but it will never be absolute truth. There is no harm in listening to people and respecting people who have a different opinion but the SCIENCE DOES NOT COMPROMISE argument only serves to harm society by marginalizing groups of people. In other words you are doing the same thing that the "other" side does and guess what my grandmother would say about that "two wrongs don't make a right"!

 

[Dave Rauschkolb]

Yes I have noticed more mask being worn as well. It is a very good sign and my hope is that we the people are united at least against this virus. The polls are proving that we the people are still able to be united in a bipartisan way. Wearing a mask protects others more than it protects us individually but when everyone wears a mask it is a big weapon against the virus. That said I have talked to more than a few people in this county that believe that the mask are worthless. Why would anyone think that a mask would not reduce air particles of the virus? It is not even common sense to believe that wearing mask are worthless! I kinda sorta understand why people may question science but to not use their common sense is even more worrisome. It suggest that they fear something more than this lethal virus.

Politics is very frustrating but if we make it worse by antagonizing and grouping people it only strengthens their fear and leads to "sides". There are some in this forum who are very good at antagonizing others. I just think if we can tone it down it and try to listen with respect that it will help more of us choose to elect better people to represent us AND make better choices like wearing a mask. Otherwise we will never have bipartisanship in our legislative representation as those in power will always keep us divided. So when I say that we the people can save our democracy I am talking about our American Democracy which is almost perfectly divided and everything including science becomes politicized. Heck even patriotism is politicized! Lets just watch our Presidential Election and how the campaigns on "both" sides are politicizing the pandemic. I agree that our President has politicized everything which is harmful to the American people but the two party political system is also responsible. Yes I am always trying to make the point that a better democracy is when there is a left and right and a middle which allows for more compromise in solving problems. The opposite of compromise is when power becomes authoritarian. I know that our society is shifting and change is absolutely necessary but even Obama indicated that if we change too fast that it leads to fear and fear only serves to divide us. There are times when an authoritarian mandate is necessary like with wearing a mask in a virus pandemic because of the science but when people do not believe in the science it means that fear is now a problem like in this Qanon movement. We should be concerned enough to try and not antagonize people with disrespectful rhetoric otherwise this movement will grow and we are just shooting ourselves in the foot as far as encouraging people to do the right thing.

Wise words Mputnal.

 

[Teresa]

I just spent a week in Gainesville Florida where a mask ordinance has been in effect for a long time now by Alachua County. UF Campus is also very strict about masks on campus, social distancing and safety of students and faculty etc.

It was a good experience to be able to get around as safely as possible, although nothing is perfect and not everyone was masked up. A college town with a top health research facility that knows science and places best practices as priority. That's something I can appreciate.

I'm not saying anything about you @mputnal or others or anything else about anyone's beliefs or feelings about our pandemic response in the US or here in South Walton Florida. I am only stating my own experience. We can each contribute something helpful here. We aren't perfect. We don't have the answers.

As I stated above we can only do our best to protect our families and our communities. While I would prefer our leaders use scientific practices and the many outstanding resources available in this country, respecting our health and science based professionals implementing a cohesive national response including world class testing, reporting realistic data, and doing all we can to protect ourselves, our economic recovery and our future. We don't live in an ideal world. It is what it is.

Stay safe and well everyone!
May we be kind to one another. We are all in this together.


Sunset at Paynes Prairie State Park in Gainesville Florida Aug 2020