OPINION

RIP Karen

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

It’s going to be hard for them to let go.  You know those I’m talking about.  The people in our midst who’ve made COVID the central focus of their lives for the last year.  The friends, coworkers, neighbors, and perfect strangers emboldened to stroll right up to you and tell you exactly what they think about your maskless conduct or your gathering of one-too-many people at your private party.

Here’s to you, the panicky parents who won't let your kids play on playgrounds outside, to the bureaucrats in towns, cities and states from coast to coast who’ve been getting contact highs from your power to demand citizens walk one way up aisles of stores, sit so many feet away from one another, or “make sure you mask is covering your nose and mouth fully.”

One final goodbye to weirdoes who’ve obsessed over silly metrics like three feet versus six feet, sitting every-other-pew at church while making sure you don’t sing, and my personal favorite, headcounts of no more than 250 gathered outdoors because 251 was flirting with disaster.

This week must have come as quite a blow to the COVID worshipers in our midst.

It started out promising enough for them.  The CDC warning of “impending doom” and Joe Biden declaring we still had a long way to go.  Of course we all know those were totally insincere and empty words because at the very same hour their administration was willfully allowing and encouraging the free-flow of illegal aliens to pour across our southern border with no regard for public health.

The American public simply won’t tolerate their liberty and freedom of movement and assembly to be hampered under the auspices of a public health crisis when the people asking for their cooperation are actively green-lighting a COVID-positive invasion.

Not to mention the panic porn doesn’t hold up when studies are released confirming the vaccines everyone had so breathlessly been waiting for are doing what they’d hoped they’d do.  The very same day the CDC director was warning of doom, her agency released a study of 4,000 fully vaccinated health care workers and found the vaccines granted 90% protection from viral infection.

The next day, the CDC released a second study suggesting not only are those vaccinated protected from infection, they also can’t carry the infection nor can they spread the virus.  “Vaccinated people do not carry the virus – they don’t get sick,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.

Now it’s true there are many who are still waiting to receive their vaccine.  Some blue state governors like Tom Wolf in Pennsylvania are embarrassingly behind schedule in getting the very first group "administered” while red state neighboring governors like West Virginia’s Jim Justice had his state’s vulnerable fully vaccinated within a few days into 2021. 

Still and all, President Biden made the declaration for all to hear.  Every American adult who wanted a vaccine would have access to it by the end of May of this year.  That’s two months left as of the date of this writing. Mark it down on your calendar.

COVID is over as of June 1, 2021.  So, once again recapping what we know:

If fully vaccinated, you’re 90 percent protected from infection says the CDC.

If fully vaccinated, you can’t carry or spread the virus says the CDC.

Every adult who wants the vaccine will have access to it by the end of May.

Ladies and gentleman, that means the masks are done.  That means limitations to gatherings are over.  That means limited seating, stupid rules, and arbitrary, capricious limitations on how we operate our businesses and lead our lives comes to an end, once again, no later than June 1st.

Of course there will be those who will try to move the goalposts as they always have because the addiction to controlling others and living in obedient fear is a hell of a drug for certain folks.  That’s been true throughout history.  Like the preening Joe Scarborough who this week puffed out his tough-guy chest on his little TV show and attempted to shame those of us who weren’t interested in getting the vaccine or being documented afterward.

"They’re being stupid, they’re following conspiracy theories...they don’t understand because maybe they’re such morons," he bellowed. "If they don’t want to take the vaccine and they want to die, that’s their right as Americans. They can live in ignorance and stupidity."

"Our government, our sports teams, our concert promoters damned well better put together something where you can show your vaccine receipt,"he said.

"This anti-science idiocy, you know, let them do that under a rock or in their caves," he added, concluding "the time to try to reason with these people has long passed."

Poor Karen, er Joe. It’s hard to let go of control and panic and condecention. But the facts aren’t on his side. COVID is a virus 99 percent of people survive if they catch it.  Even so, we now know you have a promise from the CDC you’re safe from ever getting sick once you get your vaccine and you can’t make others sick once you get it either.  And we know people like Joe trust the CDC completely, right?  So just do it and don’t worry about this caveman, Joe.  I’ll die and you’ll be Superman standing over my dumb COVID casket, right? 

The party’s over, control freaks.The masks are coming off. We’re not obeying you anymore. You’re out of reason, logic, and facts.The rest of us are long out of patience with your hysterics.