Please Honor Interdependence Day(s)
We’re all in this pandemic together. Please do your part.
Last weekend, we celebrated Independence Day, our salute to America’s birth and for the history buffs, an opportunity to recall a date in 1826, when Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson passed away on the same Fourth of July, a sad, but altogether fitting historical coincidence.
This year felt especially satisfying I’m sure, as we’ve all been constrained by COVID 19. So the chance to watch some fireworks and enjoy some sunny summer weather made for a sense of, well independence.
But it should be remembered, the 2020 pandemic is far from over. Confirmed cases of coronavirus continue to climb in Wisconsin, with the number passing 32,000.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Health & Human Services, best practices continue to include social distancing and wearing a mask.
But some people are less cautious. Some consider it a point of personal freedom, a matter of, well, independence to go mask-free. Sure, freedom and independence are American distinctions, but let’s not forget, so is personal responsibility.
So while we’re celebrating independence, let’s carefully consider its corollary: interdependence.
We rely on each other for so much. We rely on the farmer and the grocer for our food, on doctors, nurses and caregivers to ensure our health and well-being, and on our friends and family for everything that makes the pursuit of happiness worthwhile.
We’re independent, but we’re also interdependent.
Do your part. Wear a mask in public. Protect yourself. Protect others. Protect businesses. Protect the community. Consider it patriotic. Consider it a civic virtue.
The virtue of Interdependence Day.
Tom Nelson, Outagamie County executive.
More about the Coronavirus Pandemic
- MHD Release: Milwaukee Health Department Launches COVID-19 Wastewater Testing Dashboard - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Jan 23rd, 2024
- Milwaukee County Announces New Policies Related to COVID-19 Pandemic - County Executive David Crowley - May 9th, 2023
- DHS Details End of Emergency COVID-19 Response - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Apr 26th, 2023
- Milwaukee Health Department Announces Upcoming Changes to COVID-19 Services - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Mar 17th, 2023
- Fitzgerald Applauds Passage of COVID-19 Origin Act - U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald - Mar 10th, 2023
- DHS Expands Free COVID-19 Testing Program - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Feb 10th, 2023
- MKE County: COVID-19 Hospitalizations Rising - Graham Kilmer - Jan 16th, 2023
- Not Enough Getting Bivalent Booster Shots, State Health Officials Warn - Gaby Vinick - Dec 26th, 2022
- Nearly All Wisconsinites Age 6 Months and Older Now Eligible for Updated COVID-19 Vaccine - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Dec 15th, 2022
- City of Milwaukee Bi-Weekly COVID-19 Update - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Dec 9th, 2022
Read more about Coronavirus Pandemic here
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