This year, it wasn’t the typical stoner types in all-green that descended on Civic Center Park in April with marijuana leaf flags. It was the star-spangled banners that waved sky high in an intense display of patriotic exceptionalism this past weekend that should have just stayed home. Operation Gridlock, where anti-quarantine protesters at the Capitol called to reopen the state, shouldn’t have happened. Neither should have the 2020 Air Force Academy graduation in Colorado Springs.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good protest and a meaningful graduation. There’s so much in common at both events. The shouts, the signs and the collective wave of energy marked by dissent or celebration.
It just seems so irresponsible to gather for these two events, no matter how special or important, during a pandemic. Just because we have the right to, doesn’t mean we should.
Everyone has been itching to leave their homes during the shelter-in-place order. President Donald Trump’s thumbs turned that surface discomfort to an open wound by calling for state liberation.
Liberation occurs after unjust oppression. A stay-in-shelter order during a pandemic is not unlawful incarceration or house arrest lite. It’s a public safety and health measure. The quarantine in Colorado will eventually end despite the enemy’s elusiveness.
Both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have called the coronavirus a silent enemy. One that does not discriminate by gender, race or political belief. And still, more than 100 protesters descended on the Capitol with flags, posters and MAGA hats. Some head-to-toe in protective gear and others exposed without masks. The day before, a thousand cadets had gathered in what seemed to be a photo opportunity and propaganda flex for our country.
Pence attended the Air Force Academy commencement ceremony in person in Colorado Springs. Among the celebratory remarks, he talked about the 300,000 coronavirus cases thus far resulting in 37,000 deaths. “America is being tested,” the vice president told the graduating class.
The problem is that America is not being tested enough for the virus. This is the safest measure to help reopen our states. Perhaps these two displays of exceptionalism this past weekend could have been productive.
Coronavirus testing could have been administered before the rally and the graduation with enough fore-thought and resources. That seems like an improbable suggestion but since groups of people are insistent on risking lives in the name of America and for the economy, I can also drum up spacey ideas.
Speaking of space, of the 967 graduating cadets 86 are part of the inaugural class to enter as officers in the new Space Force. These graduates are the only certified space cadets of the weekend.
“You, if deterrence fails, will fight and win the battle for space superiority which is so vital to our own nation,” said Gen. John “Jay” Raymond, the Space Force leader.
Graduates and protesters are feeding this type of ideology. Superiority instigates exceptionalism, whether on Earth or in space. Why don’t we fight and win the battle of avoiding a second-wave of infections?
Gen. Raymond doesn’t need to look far into the future to see that even the most serious type of deterrence has failed to strike common sense into our population.
The distanced seating arrangements during the ceremony was a futile effort. Cadets could not contain their joy and embraced each other as they left the field. The Air Force Academy graduating class might have unintentionally defeated the purpose of social distancing, but the space cadets at the Capitol defied the guidance as a rebellious act of state liberation.
They’ve traded cries for justice to whines of leisure. Life has a way to deliver irony. Right-wing protesters are using leftist rhetoric and organizing tactics. You could almost read Free Leonard Peltier through the “make America free again” signs.
Things feel a little backward and upside down these days. These protests across the nation, like the one in Denver, defend the economy, capitalism and literally puts profits over people.
It’s true many small businesses are the livelihood for people and families in our communities. But health comes before wealth and dead people can’t work. It’s our responsibility to ensure we are all safe.
Decades, years or even months from now we’ll reference charts that show coronavirus infection clusters and spikes. Precautionary action and adherence to reality this spring can help us minimize deaths in summer and fall.
It’s simple to respect social distancing guidelines. Take it from the original space cadets.
The year 2020 was going to be a historical 4/20 celebration for cannabis enthusiasts around the world. But you didn’t see them out there in droves.
Stoners confined their April festivities to their porches and back yards.
Self-proclaimed liberators take note and stay home.
Mimi Madrid is a Denver-raised writer who works as a communications content writer at a non-profit providing nursing care for new mothers and has worked in non-profits serving youth, LGBTQ survivors of violence and Latinx communities.
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