My Take: The next battle

In culture wars, it’s never too early to start preparing for the next battle.

The last battle — mask vs. no mask — is essentially over and the pro-maskers appear to have won, if the grim statistics on hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 are any indicators.

A word of advice to pro-Trumpers — mask up now or you might not be around to vote (twice if you live in Michigan!) for the Donald when he runs again in 2024.

The next battle, of course, will be over whether to vaccinate or not to vaccinate.

Those Americans who thought merely putting on a mask violated their right to die a slow and painful death will likely think that getting inoculated against the virus will also violate their right to die a slow and painful death.

But in the battle over masks, it was a lot easier to see who was on which side.

Either someone was wearing a mask or they weren’t. Those that were masked presumably were safe enough to be around, as long as you stayed six feet away. Those that weren’t masked weren’t safe enough to be around and you kept your distance, especially if they were carrying a gun.

But how are we going to tell if someone has been vaccinated against the virus or not? Do you want to be standing in line at the grocery store next to someone who wasn’t vaccinated as they sneeze and wheeze all over the checkout counter?

So how are we going to tell if someone got the shot or not?

A tattoo wouldn’t work. Too easy to fake, and a horrible reminder of the concentration camps associated with the Holocaust.

Perhaps we could paint a big scarlet V on the chests of those who are vaccinated, kind of a V for “Victory” over the virus. Those who refuse the shots could have a big scarlet S painted on their chests for “Stupid,” i.e. someone who doesn’t care a wit about their family or fellow citizens.

Maybe a cheaper and less messy alternative would be to give everyone a sticker, similar to the “I Voted” sticker you get on Election Day (you got two if you voted twice in Michigan!) It could say “I’m Vaccinated” and announce to everyone they encounter that they’re safer to be around than someone who isn’t vaccinated.

People like stickers, a lot more than masks, so this might be a viable option, but again not foolproof. Stickers can be counterfeited, they fall off easy and get lost, and some opportunist would surely file a class action lawsuit claiming the adhesive used causes cancer.

Culture wars cause all sorts of predicaments like this.

Of course, it would just be simpler if everyone got vaccinated and herd immunity would be established by next spring and we could throw away our masks, get on with our lives and enjoy a booming economy.

Things might even get back to normal, whatever that was. Maybe no more looking at each other suspiciously and maybe less suffering and dying.

But no, that isn’t the American way anymore. More than likely we will fight each other over whether to get vaccinated, wrestling in the mud and gouging each other’s eyes, in a foolish effort to prove our side is right and the other side is wrong.

Of course, standing on the sidelines cheering us on will be the deadly coronavirus, laughing its little spiky head off, whispering in gullible ears: “You don’t need no stinking vaccine, it’s just a hoax, an international conspiracy to turn you all into socialists, HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Unfortunately, some people will listen to this nonsense and the suffering and dying will continue longer than it needs to.

Doctors and scientists like Anthony Fauci, if he still has his head, will reassure us that there is more to fear from not getting the vaccine than there is to rolling up your sleeves and doing the right thing.

Doing the right thing is always harder, but there’s never a wrong time to do the right thing.

That time is approaching very quickly, perhaps just a matter of weeks. The only question is are Americans ready to stop fighting each other long enough to defeat this plague once and for all?

— Bill Dalton is a former reporter and editor for The Kansas City Star, The Grand Rapids Press and other Michigan newspapers.