Do the right thing

4 years ago

To the editor:

I would like to throw my two cents into the pot and commend the Star City IGA and Josh Tweedie in Presque Isle for doing the right thing and following all the [COVID-19] guidelines. He is keeping his employees and customers safe. All stores should be doing the same.  

We have been lucky so far in the County, but we need to stay on top of things. I don’t understand when we became a state and a nation of money/economy meaning more than human life.  How can 86-plus thousand people’s lives not matter? When did this become the norm? These were not just numbers, but loved ones. No funerals or limited ones, no national day of mourning. So sad. More than Korea or Vietnam. St. Paul in a letter to Timothy said, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” He was talking about a lifestyle where money was worth more than people’s lives. As a Christian, [I say] this can’t be.

By not adhering to the guidelines we’re putting our loved ones, friends, neighbors and health care works all at risk of this horrible virus.  Some say it’s a matter of freedom. Well, I have always heard that “Freedom isn’t free.” We have been quarantined in this country for many things — smallpox, polio, measles, mumps, diphtheria, whooping cough and tuberculosis. We had our own sanatorium in Presque Isle. No one protested. They did the right thing.  

In WWII sugar and gas were rationed. You had coupon books of stamps. You had to black out your windows so light couldn’t show through. No one protested. You did the right thing. Protesting is a slap in the face to all our health care workers and service people fighting to serve us.

We all know right from wrong. Let’s all try and do the right thing and be a little kinder.

A big thank you to all of you who put your life on the line each and every

day. God bless you.

Sheena McHatten

Castle Hill