Let's follow Nancy Pelosi’s example and reopen the economy
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, just showed the entire nation a way through the coronavirus pandemic. But she either won’t acknowledge it or is too deep into her own virulent anti-Trump agenda to be aware of it. At podiums and in press conferences, in searing statements and in petulant putdowns of President Trump, the California Democrat has for months lectured the country about the importance of wearing a mask. She has focused on “the science.” She has stressed “social distancing.” She has talked of sanitizing, testing, treating, “and the like.” She has also charged, among other things, that Trump “couldn’t care less” about “the spread of the virus" — a dubious charge, at least judging by Trump's repeated statements and his sustained actions since early this year. But now, Pelosi has been caught on video sneaking into a salon in San Francisco to get her hair done, and she didn't even bother wearing a mask, even though current COVID-19 regulations there require salons to remain closed to customers. In a statement about the incident, Pelosi is now claiming she was “set up” by the salon and that she is the one owed an apology. Whether she realizes it or not, the 80-year-old Pelosi just showed people how we can move forward in this country. She just showed the entire nation, and the world, how we can and must adapt and open up our economy again.
She clearly felt safe enough herself to enter a salon, receive the desired personal service, and pay those involved for their work. Evidently, she even felt safe enough to do so while not wearing a mask over her nose and mouth for at least part of her visit there. Pelosi has thus shown that we can do this. We can survive this. We’re free to live our lives in this country, and we should be free to live our lives. She just showed you how. So never mind the words Pelosi utters from public podiums in her role as speaker. It’s her actions behind closed doors, as a private citizen, that speak the loudest.
If Pelosi can safely get her hair done inside a salon in San Francisco with no fear of contacting COVID-19 right now, then so can millions of others no matter where they live. Millions of us can also use indoor gyms safely. We can go to museums, to stores, to work, to school. We can move about freely. Yes, we must be cautious and be safe, smart, and wise about it. We must guard our health while looking out for others. But then, not every environment is the same. Each requires its own safety measures. But it can be done. And that’s huge.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/lets-follow-nancy-pelosis-example-and-reopen-the-economy