Instead of anti-mask 'dogma,' give us real solutions

Is this it?

Is this all we can expect now from the Cheney Free Press in terms of local area news and commentary? Publisher Harnack’s opinion piece on Aug. 12, 2021 (Parents should push back on Olympia masks in schools mandates) leaves a reader with big dose of “huh”?

Of all the critical local issues swirling about, we get a commentary from Publisher Harnack on how parents should rise up and reject mask mandates for students to return to school. No discussion on why masks are again necessary, no discussion on why our children should be protected and no discussion about other solutions for our schools.

Instead, we get the lazy spin that mask mandates are unconstitutional, that parents who don’t believe in safeguards for their children have more rights than parents who do and of course his most audacious claim is students “are generally not severely affected by the coronavirus.”

Publisher Harnack points us to a planned rally of some anti-mask parents at a rural school district 20 miles southeast of Cheney commanding our utmost attention to take up arms against the governor. Then what? We convince the governor and the rest of the state how wrong they are, they lift the mask mandate and any other covid response and we all go about our merry way. Isn’t that nice.

The Cheney community deserves more. If Publisher Harnack’s commentary intent is to stir conversation or steer public opinion, I don’t see that happening here. Continuing with one-sided lectures with little or no legal, factual or common basis is just not going to work.

Give us some thought and insight on real challenges and spare us the lame dogma.

Paul Schmidt

Cheney