LETTER: Scared Americans have lost the ability to assess risk

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” That is obviously no longer true.

The entire world has foolishly followed what China told everyone to do. We have shut down the entire world. Now I read daily how the coronavirus has peaked, and we are getting better.

So our airlines are now telling us that we can’t fly one of their planes without a mask on. Wearing a mask will simply make scared people feel better. Next, restaurants are going to open again, and I’m sure that we will be told that we have to wear a mask in the restaurant. I assume that every restaurant will give us a pair of scissors so that we can cut a hole in the mask in order to eat and drink. If not, everyone will have to pull their masks down in order to eat and drink. So much for feeling good. I’m guessing that all of these masks will be N95 masks, otherwise they are useless except to make scared people feel good.

Over many years we have seen a change in America. Children are no longer allowed to ride a bicycle without a helmet, arm pads and leg pads. God forbid that they should ever fall and get a scratch. Everyone seems to want to be so safe that they no longer really enjoy sports or other recreation. People seem to be scared of building a tolerance to any disease, any accident, or any problems. They don’t seem to understand that in life there are risks and rewards.

Children used to be allowed to attend schools while their parents knew they would get sick from other children. But they also knew that their children would become immune to the diseases. Now our children sit home not getting an education. Now our high school seniors and college seniors will graduate without any ceremony, without walking to get their degrees and without the memory of having graduated. So sad.