The Spring of Our Discontent

Not meaning to sound like a broken record, but it feels
SO good to be back! When the Coronavirus, a/k/a
COVID-19 came to the United States earlier in the year
the governors of most of the states enacted executive
orders to either close down for a time or to curb certain
activities, i.e. visiting parks and beaches, going to movie
theaters, attending concerts, festivals and sporting events,
and visiting our community libraries. Sadly and painfully,
this has certainly been the case here in Wisconsin.

Our Milwaukee Irish Fest has been cancelled for this year;
so have all the other major festivals, including SummerFest.
The State Fair went away as well. There has never been a
cancellation of our state fair in its 130+ year history until now.
All to avoid having too many people in one place at one time,
so as to run the risk of the virus being spread around by
people who might not even know they have it.

Some major league sports stopped in mid-season (basketball,
hockey) while others saw a postponement of their seasons
(baseball). Auto races were either been cancelled or postponed.
Ditto golf tournaments. And the three most famous horse races
in the country? The Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the
Belmont will either be cancelled or postponed as well. I've
heard that the Kentucky Derby will be held at a later date,
likely in autumn. College and high school sports? Cancelled.

Schools? The spring semester was cut short for many students,
teachers, and administrators. Graduation ceremonies and related
activities have been converted into "virtual" events, held online
with everyone participating from home. Colleges and universities
too.

Restaurants, cafe's, and drinking establishments have been
shuttered, except for those fortunate restaurants that were able
to do deliveries or carry-out. Many friends of The Peasant who
work in these places, especially my musician/singer friends,
have been placed on the shelf for the time being. As of this
posting, some of them are still waiting to return to work and
to re-schedule their gigs.

Churches, temples, and other houses of worship were locked as
well. There have not been any masses or other activities at
the catholic church next door to me as a result.

In some cities and states, there have been rules either suggesting
or mandating that people not venture out from their homes unless
it is for an appointment with their doctors, to visit their drug stores
for medicine, to buy groceries, or to go to their local post offices.
At least here in Wisconsin we could still go out for walks in our
neighborhoods, and your favorite Peasant has been taking advantage
of this! I am trying to lose a few pounds and the exercise has been
most beneficial.

At this time, there has been a stepped-up though still gradual
re-opening of our state as far as the aforementioned things are
concerned. Gov. Tony Evers (D) issued an executive order pro-
scribing our activities in reaction to the COVID-19, which many
(including your favorite Peasant) have found unnecessarily
stringent, and with no plans to ease up anytime soon.
Many Wisconsinites complained to him, many also have publicly
protested, including your outspoken Peasant, attending "Open
Wisconsin Now!" rallies around the state. I participated in one
which was held in Brookfield; it was one of the first such gatherings
held, and was nearby New Berlin where I live.

During the shutdown which was part of Gov. Evers' "Safer at Home"
edict many small businesses have been greatly hampered and are
still hurting. Some of them may close for good or already have,
with some declaring bankruptcy because they could not pay their
bills without revenue coming in. Many of these business owners
have appealed to Gov. Evers but could not get him to budge.
So they went to their state assembly reps and state senators, most
of whom are Republicans, and eventually the legislators launched
a lawsuit against the governor to get him to back off on his edict
and let at least some businesses open up and bring back their
furloughed workers, many in the same financial straits as their
employees without any income. The case was decided by the
Wisconsin Supreme Court in favor of the people, 4-3, breaking
Evers' grip on the people and the state economy, both of which
languished during the lockdown which caused our once-vibrant
economy to become weak and sickly. Some think that Evers and his
administration have tightened said controls so severely as to
harm the economy of our state on purpose and then blame President
Trump for the downfall, by not taking swift and decisive action
from the White House to deal with the Coronavirus. All to turn
people against him so come November Trump will be easily
defeated by the Democrat's candidate, they figure. Many other
Democrat governors are doing the same, and they are thought to
be doing this to sink Trump as well. Your watchful Peasant also
shares this suspicion. I have supported some of the lockdown
measures early on, but thought that they should have been eased
somewhat when signs of the COVID-19 case curve was flattening.
Although new cases have been reported in recent weeks here in
my home state these were due to an increase in testing for the virus
which turned up some new cases; however, the cases where some
people tested positive were running behind those where people
tested negative by around 9 to 1. Still, some governors, including
ours, have refused to let up one iota on their stay-at-home rules.
This I found to be unreasonable, unfair, and overly restricting,
as have many other Wisconsinites, hence the series of events
which consequentially came about.

Because of the State Supreme Court ruling, many mom-and-pop
stores and the like have re-opened for business with alacrity.
There still are some safety measures which must be followed
but they are quite reasonable ones which are in fact quite helpful
in thwarting any further spread of the virus. There must be six feet
of space between customers and staff at all times; when this is not
possible, such as waiting at a checkout station, there is plexiglass
placed between the cashiers and customers. Also staff have to wear
safety masks, and some businesses require their customers to do
the same. Not unreasonable requirements at all.

No one is saying that they don't care about COVID-19 infecting
people, causing death to some. And no one is against reasonable
precautions taken to avoid spreading the virus further. We all
want to "flatten the curve". But certainly no one wants to see
our economy die either, due to businesses closing and people
being laid off for long periods or released altogether.
Even larger businesses in Wisconsin have felt the crunch, with
some cutting back operations and placing many employees on
furlough. It's happened to your Peasant as well, as I have been
on a two-month layoff from my employer, Goodwill. I since
have been brought back to their store here in New Berlin, but
many other workers are still without a job and a paycheck.
As I am now semi-retired, this job has been a wonderful income-
enhancer for me as it complements my passive income. However,
some people are not as fortunate. And we can help them, and
the owners of the businesses which employ them, by getting
our elected leaders in Wisconsin and elsewhere to realize that
protecting the health and the lives of the populace and
enabling businesses to operate again are not mutually exclusive
choices, nor should they be. And self-serving politicians should
not create a false choice in the minds of the people to manipulate
them in an election year.


MEM