In NV - a bar owner opens - GASP! - without the Overlord's permission.
In SC - a state which, largely, has few restrictions at this time (individual businesses may impose their own conditions for interaction) - I was out yesterday with my husband. We were doing some shopping for groceries.
I noticed that even the usually germ-phobic people (elderly, many Black people, Drama Queens) were less likely to be wearing masks. In some places, we were in the minority (Both my husband and I are over 60, and, due to allergy season, we're coughing occasionally. We wear the masks so as not to freak others out).
Later, at our church, we were with other volunteers who have been asked to monitor mask use and social distancing for the services to open this Saturday/Sunday (as well as some disinfecting after the mass). They went over the details, and we left, knowing that, no matter what, there will be glitches. Some were quite nervous about the details - there was one who seemed to be more than a little concerned - she is elderly, and disabled. Clearly, she feels vulnerable.
What I found touching about her volunteering is that she was willing to take a seemingly large risk, all for the benefit of having mass again. The government, and the Catholic church, has underestimated just how important that social gathering is to those in the pew.
Distancing - not just in interpersonal conversations, but in physical proximity, geographically, may determine the course of America's future. Read what City Journal has to say about it.
City Journal's Samo Burja may have something with this article. She makes her argument from a more social science-type point of view (which, as her points are based on normal, typical human experiences, is a perfectly valid viewpoint).
The trivial task of walking down a hall and carrying out an informal conversation can save hundreds of manhours of paperwork. The more physically integrated an organization is, the faster it can communicate with itself, and thus the faster it can respond to circumstances and succeed at whatever task it has set out to accomplish. Voice is a better carrier of information than a memo or email, and in-person communication is superior to a phone call. It’s easy to see why living in the right city, alongside the right people and organizations, is so valuable. The power of a city like Washington or New York is magnified many times beyond the sum of its parts. It is much more useful for Jeff Bezos to locate Amazon HQ2 near Washington than near Fort Lauderdale.For all that new ways of communication have been used over the last few years, there is something about face-to-face interactions that cannot be replaced. I'm rather introverted, and often text rather than talk. However, even someone so atypical as I has found that there were time when I craved physical proximity to other people. It's even harder for my husband, who actually enjoys the social whirl.
Burja points out that Zoom calls provide irrefutable evidence of those conversations (can't wait to see what James O'Keefe will be able to make of those!).
What Burja doesn't touch on, and may be a bigger factor in the future is the effect that distance learning will have on an entire cohort of students. Not just in K-12 education (which will be likely to return, in some fashion, by the end of summer/early fall), but even more influentially for college/post-grad students.
In college, a significant portion of the experience is the interactions. Conformity pressures shape the typical college students' rapid metamorphosis from hometown and family values, to a tatted, binge-drinking, screeching echo of their professors and peers. If the college is Leftist (as most prestigious ones are), parents find they have little in common with the resulting grad.
At no other time in their children's lives are they so vulnerable to undue influence. They are surrounded, 24/7, with others who work hard to re-direct their thinking/actions to an outcome that matches the Goals of the Left. As the most influential time is in the first weeks, when the sleep deprivation, guided experiences that push unified actions, and absence of alternative viewpoint can mold students, just as a cult does. I would suggest watching the Canadian film "Ticket to Heaven", which shows how a 'religious' community takes an average young teacher, and, within a very short time, creates a zombie cult member.
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