Returning to work brings a number of advantages. It usually involves hearing stories that always seem to surprise me. In the era of COVID, I get to hear stories that end up shocking us in the end. For today, those stories center on sick people that have been denied care because hospitals are full of Covidiots.

We know it’s happening, but these stories become more real when we hear them from someone we know. Of course, I realize I’m preaching to the choir here and preaching to the choir doesn’t exactly bring a lot of converts. Maybe it’s just a few tortured souls complaining together in the wilderness.

Since I’m not a lawyer or a doctor I know only a few things. First, I know that doctors have a duty to help everyone that comes their way. Secondly, the numbers of Covidiots being hospitalized has caused traditional patients to somehow get the shaft.

I’m not smart enough to figure out how we work around this problem. I know I would mandate the vaccine and masks, but we all know that this will never happen across the board. Obviously, some public entities are requiring it in some circumstances. My wife will not be allowed back on site at JSC unless she can prove she has been vaccinated. Unfortunately, private businesses and most other job sites are not doing the same.

So, we rely on the humanity of others. We rely on people to feel shame for their behavior or empathy for others that may need those hospital beds. Shame and empathy seem to be in short supply. Any kind of collective responsibility is seen as socialism and evil. So, about 40 percent of the population refuse to see how their inaction has impacted the rest of us.

The question before us is how we can ultimately deal with this problem. Certainly, some have offered suggestions that will make things better in a marginal way, but the problem is so widespread that these minor suggestions serve as a ripple in the sea.

So, that brings us to the two key questions of the day. First, in terms of hospitalization, is there any legal way to force those that actively chose not to safeguard themselves or the community to wait? Secondly, and more importantly, how do we get people to understand that they are responsible for not only themselves but to those around them as well? I’m open to suggestions.