From the Fringe: The answer is, we're not all in this together right now

My editor in chief, and longtime colleague Tim Leeds wrote an op-ed earlier this week begging the question: “What’s wrong with people?”

Of course, as opinion pieces do sometimes, the header probably ruffled some feathers, but, in my humble opinion, and given where our state, county and community is with COVID-19 right now, it was indeed an honest and valid question. And one I’ve been pondering myself for some time now, but in recent days, that question is one that is causing me to lose sleep.

I’m losing sleep over it, because deep down inside, I already know the answer to Tim’s question. And that answer is, some people just don’t care about others.

That’s really the bottom line in all of this, and when it comes to what’s happening in Montana right now, it’s a matter of caring about our neighbors, about everyone in our communities and that’s just not happening here. It’s sad and frustrating.

I‘m frustrated by it because we made it through the heart of summer and tourism season without a surge in cases like the one we’re seeing now, and you know one of the biggest reasons why we did? Because most of our out-of-state visitors cared about Montana while they were here.

I traveled a lot in July and August, and mainly to tourist hotspots. I was in Gardiner and Yellowstone National Park, and I was in Glacier National Park and the Flathead Valley, and you know what I saw? I saw almost total masking indoors, anywhere and everywhere. In both GNP and Yellowstone I saw masking outdoors, even on trails, and on my own hikes, when hikers, including myself would approach each other on the trails, masks went up until we, and they were alone again, or at least at a much greater distance. That’s called caring about your fellow man.

Yes, on every trip I took this summer, I told people upon my return that, if everyone in Montana cared about preventing the spread of the virus as much as people do in our great tourist destinations, this state would have COVID beat. We would be the standard by which managing this pandemic would be measured by.

Alas though, that’s just not the case. It wasn’t the tourists. They’re gone. The parks are much quieter now, Flathead Lake is no longer packed, the Fort Peck Summer Theatre is over, and the list goes on and on. We can’t blame this surge on the tourists. Can’t blame it on those Californians. 

No, it’s not them, it’s us. This surge is our fault. And that makes me sad. 

I’m sad because I hate seeing this happen to Montana. I hate to see what this virus is doing to our hospital capacity and health care systems. Yes, that’s something else people who don’t care, or didn’t care to think about when they decided to selfishly not do their part to at least help prevent a surge. They didn’t think about a surge like this swamping our hospitals, but it’s simple math now and our hospitals are headed towards big trouble. Some are there already.

I’m sad to see so many outbreaks in longterm care facilities and nursing homes, outbreaks I think are ridiculous at this point because they should have been so easily prevented. Why you ask? Because we already saw those happen all the way back in April. We knew how devastating they can be, and yet, somehow, some way, we’re now letting those happen in Montana? It’s unacceptable. People are dying that didn’t have to. 

I’m also saddened to see what this virus is doing to are Native American communities in this state. It’s devastating, and honestly, it makes me not just sad, but angry.

Yes, I’m angry because we, as Montanans, were given the blueprint on how to prevent this massive surge we’re going through now. We were given the manual. In March and April there was no manual. Places like New York and California, Louisiana and Washington had to suffer first, then show the rest of the country what not to do going forward, and during that time, Montana was pretty much spared.

Then came the summer, and we all watched as states like Arizona, Texas and Florida went ballistic with coronavirus, and while Montana started seeing cases, once again, we were spared a huge surge, even during tourist season.

And we were not only spared, but we were once again shown what it takes to prevent a huge surge, and more importantly, save hospital capacity, and above all else, save lives.

We pretty much got to watch the rest of the country, at one point or another, get slammed by COVID, and as we watched, we should have learned how to handle it. We know masks work, we know avoiding large indoor gatherings work, we know social distancing and good hygiene work. It’s all been proven, whether some of you want to believe it or not. Look at the states that now have the virus much more in check. They did all those things, and, while we hate to see any businesses suffer, closing bars and gyms for at least 30 days also proved effective in ALL of the states that are handling COVID much better.

Now, I’m not here to make policy, and I certainly can’t enforce it. I’m not telling anyone else what to do or how to think either. But I can speak up for what has already been proven to work, and beyond that, I can continue to plea for people to care. That’s the right thing to do, and I have a platform to do it, and I couldn’t sleep at night if I didn’t at least try.

And that’s the point. Just care about your fellow Montanan. Is it really that hard to care? Is it that hard to put aside politics and put on a mask when you’re indoors so that YOU don’t infect someone else, which has always been the point of masks. You mask up to protect others. That’s always been the battle cry of this pandemic. There’s nothing else to it. No hidden agenda, no conspiracy, no nothing, we just need to care about and take care of each other, and that means masking up, social distancing, and not ignoring the measures that help prevent the spread of this virus.

We’ve got just care about others, and not be selfish.

Let me just say though, it’s not everybody. Lots of people, I’d even say the vast majority of people do care about each other. I’ve witnessed it. I’ve witnessed our Havre High athletes wearing a masks on a five-hour bus ride so that we all protect each other. I’ve seen people caring in grocery stores and gas stations, and beyond. And to those that do, bravo. To our local businesses who are keeping each other safer, to those of you who have taken extra steps, no matter how hard they may be, thank you so much. Thank you, and your empathy toward your fellow Montanan has not gone unnoticed by me.

And yet, to answer Tim’s original question in his column earlier this week, not enough people care right now to help slow this thing down. I know because I’ve witnessed that side of it, too. And it’s become pretty obvious with the surge in cases, especially in places like nursing homes and jails. To see what’s happening in those settings, and in our communities all across the state, it’s obvious that some people just don’t care about their fellow Montanan. At least not in regard to this pandemic.  And that’s sad, but, it’s a clear reality. 

It’s a reality we’re all now forced to face. It’s no longer a California problem, it’s no longer a Florida problem. It’s no longer a blame it on the out of stater’s thing. It’s no longer someone else’s problem.

COVID-19 is officially a Montana problem. That’s right, your state, our state, the Treasure State, Big Sky Country, the place we all love, now has the worst coronavirus infection rate per capita in the United State of America. Let that sink in for a minute. We have more COVID-19 per 100,000 people than anywhere else in the country right now.

That’s not only shocking to me, but heartbreaking. And now the question is, what are we going to do about it? I know I don’t have all the answers. But I do know this, we can start by everybody just caring about it, no matter what you believe politically, or who you vote for, we can still care about each other. We can start by people just having the common decency to do the things it will take to slow this thing down. Because I don’t know about you, but I miss the old Montana and I’ll do anything to get it back to the way it was before. 

In other words, I care about all of you. Every single one of you, and that isn’t going to change. I just wish everyone else felt the same way.