History teaches the evils of war
Haff cherry picks logic to rescind mask mandate in Washington County
The Front Page
Morning Update
Friday, February 25, 2022
By Ken Tingley
We are all students of history.
From our earliest days in grade school we were told about the pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving, Ben Franklin’s experiments with kites and the ethical standard of our first president when George Washington said he could not tell a lie.
Imagine that proclamation from any politician in this day in age.
The Founding Fathers and the American Revolution have taken on a mythic standard for high ideals. Our lessons became more in-depth i future years. It sticks with most of us in some form, giving us a sense of patriotism and pride in our country.
We came to the rescue to turn the tide in World War I.
We saved the world in World War II.
We became the world’s policeman over the past 75 years, the standard for people seeking simple freedoms and a better way of life.
Hollywood has continued memorialized the sacrifices of our soldiers in brutal, bloody wars from “The Sands of Iwo Jima” to “Saving Private Ryan.”
Often those war-time sacrifices are glossed over. Veterans are notorious for suffering in silence and rarely telling their horror stories and continuing nightmares until years later. What we should have learned over our history was that there is no place for war and its horrors. That no one should be put through it.
Vietnam brought war into our living rooms and helped end that war. If there is anything we should have learned about the human condition it is that there is no place for it in a civilized world for war, yet here we are.
Most of us have not been to Ukraine.
Most of us probably don’t know much about Ukraine or even where it is in the world.
But looking at the video being beamed around the world this week, what you see are people much like us in modern cities forced to take shelter in the subway or the basement of a government building because bombing is expected.
What we’re seeing is people forced to make the decision on whether they should gather a few belongings and flee their homes for another country in the name of family safety.
Put yourself in their shoes.
Then apply it to the current political climate in this country where many believe a civil war is possible.
Can any of us imagine a scenario where we would have to flee our homes?
Where we would have hide in our basements while the bombs fall?
Where we would wonder how we would feed our families?
Families in Ukraine are facing all of that in the weeks and months to come. It is a reminder of how lucky we are to live in a country that is safe and secure. Maybe that’s a starting point to come together.
And a reminder that no war is worth it. It is something Mr. Putin never learned.
Faulty logic
Washington County decided to rescind its mask mandate for county employees last week, although its logic was questionable.
Long-time Hartford supervisor Dana Haff introduced a resolution to rescind the mandate, stating “masks are useless.”
He cited a Center for Disease Control Report that said, “loosely-woven cloth offers the least protection.” That does not say masks don’t work, it says that using the wrong kind of mask in the wrong way does not protect an individual. Haff sold that turkey to the board.
For an elected official to cherry pick this type of information to suit their own beliefs is unconscionable and Haff should know better. It may be time to retire the mask mandate for workers, but don’t do it by saying “masks are useless.” That is not true.
During discussion, Argyle Supervisor Bob Henke said he was not comfortable in rescinding the mask guidelines. Salem Supervisor Sue Clary reminded the board that Covid-19 is not gone.
Nevertheless, the board rescinded the mandate unanimously.
Since the Covid-19 outbreak, 112 people in Washington County have died.
In the Great War, my grandparents knew who the enemy was, same for my parents in WW2. Today, unbelievably, citizens as well as our elected officials are publically saying Putin is justified in invading Ukraine. Nazis march in our streets. Those who fought and died for our freedom must be turning in their graves. This is why history is so important and must never be censored, omitted or whitewashed.
One evening in May of 2018, Roman & I were heading north out of the village of Lake George when we saw a girl toting a large suitcase up route 9. Roman suggested we turn around and ask if she needed a ride... As the female, I got out and asked if she needed help. She was so relieved and said yes. As we walked to our car, I asked her where she was from and she said Ukraine. I smiled as she got in I said to Roman she from Ukraine. Roman starts speaking fluid Ukrainian and she seemed to melt in relief. Liza was on a foreign student work program and had just traveled from Kyiv to NYC, boarded a bus to work the summer in Lake George. We found the place she was to stay and it was not open for the season yet. We brought her home and she stayed with us for two weeks while we and Mayor Blais helped her find good housing and our friends Judith & Richard gave her a bike to use for the summer. Think about how brave this young woman is... Last night we spoke to Liza in Kyiv thru What's App. There has been bombing and gun fire. She said they have a solid house and her family is thankful to have a basement. She said that Ukraine is standing together and how appreciative that the US is supporting Ukraine. She said people are helping one another, although I believe, supplies are limited the grocery store is giving food for free to the Ukrainian men that are fighting. She cried and said that her boyfriend, Andrew, is still alive. Think how brave Liza is...