The OBSERVER story about citizens protesting pandemic related mandates outside the County Building in Mayville, prior to the County Legislature’s meeting last week, got me thinking.

I’m not sure what the County Legislature can do regarding COVID-19 vaccines and mask mandates but the protest, which attracted a large number of people, is an indication of the feelings of many Americans today. After 18 months of a pandemic that placed great restrictions on our lives by limiting our freedoms of assembly and the right to practice our religions, selective business closures, school closures, mask mandates, and constant badgering about social distancing, washing hands, and hand sanitizers we are tired of being treated as disobedient children by politicians and others.

This past weekend after several months of mask less freedom parishioners of parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo are again being required to wear masks in compliance with our new governor’s mask mandate. Masks are required when entering church, when going to communion and when leaving church at the end of Mass. However, when sitting in the pews the wearing of masks is not required.

Does this accomplish anything? Not really because it is extremely unlikely you will catch COVID from the unvaccinated and they won’t catch it from you. As our President said recently, the pandemic is now the pandemic of the unvaccinated.

Sadly, Catholic bishops have been very compliant with various mandates imposed by state and local leaders during the pandemic. Most simply rolled over last year when they were told to close their churches ignoring the inner peace many derive from church attendance in bewildering times. For many going to church would have been a risk worth taking even in those pre-vaccine days. But the bishops are only a single example of how not to manage a pandemic because there’s plenty of blame to go around.

A month or two before the COVID-19 Pandemic arrived from China I read a piece in Commentary magazine where the author wrote about his fear that in a future crises leaders conditioned by the constant glare of the 24/7 news cycle might have developed a “Chicken Little” mentality and over react. Well, that’s what happened too often during the pandemic. Many over-reacted in the beginning and some continue to do so telling us that in instituting certain measure that they were only “following the science.”

Other leaders, in particular certain governors, seemed to get a kick out of imposing often senseless restrictions on citizens. Several state governors imposed curfews making some wonder if the COVID-19 virus was only active at certain hours of the day.

Another governor, “in following the science” imposed a travel ban on citizens of her state because in her mind the COVID virus could survive on gasoline pumps for up to three days, even though studies had already found that catching COVID-19 from objects and surfaces was virtually impossible. Then there was a certain governor who issued an order last Thanksgiving limiting private holiday gatherings to 10 people or less and then couldn’t understand why Sheriffs’ Departments across the state announced they would not enforce the ban.

The average American looks to governments at all levels to provide those services individual citizens are not able to do themselves. These are services like snowplowing, road building and repair, national defense, police services, and representing our interests abroad. If you’re like me you probably agree with President Ronald Reagan’s views on government when he said that “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

During the pandemic government leaders at all levels have become more intrusive and more uncaring about our rights as citizens.

Many leaders seem to have forgotten the words of our Declaration of Independence “…. that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…” and also, the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution protecting the free exercise of religion, freedom to peaceably assemble and freedom of speech.

However, surprisingly some of us have also forgotten the real meaning of the words of the Declaration of Independence and the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Many of us have meekly gone along with often misguided and unconstitutional mandates with nary a whimper of protest, forgetting that governments and its leaders work for us.

Perhaps more should do what I do and write letters and send emails to leaders and representatives.

Make sure your voice is heard and don’t listen to those who say that doing these things will accomplish nothing because if enough of us make enough noise saying we don’t like the way things are going our leaders will have to listen. Remember, their positions do not make them any smarter or wiser than we are.

Remember this, a nation does not become tyrannical because its leaders impose it, but rather because citizens allow it. We must never forget that.

Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com