The US is 5% of the world's population, yet we're responsible for 25% of the world's deaths from coronavirus, more than any country in the world. More than 10 times as many people have died from coronavirus in the US than from Ebola in all of Africa at its peak in 2014-2016.

More than twice as many Americans have died from coronavirus than from the war in Vietnam. Yes, we have leadership that seemed to pretend the situation wasn't happening early on, and then apparently just gave up. But it's also US.

Freedom is an important right of Americans, but it shouldn't be a fetish. Sometimes we have to sacrifice our temporary desires for the longterm good of the whole.

Wearing a mask isn't a big deal, nor is regulating or limiting our social interactions. These are simply kind things to do for ourselves and our neighbors.

Other countries, even much, much poorer countries, are more willing to sacrifice their own needs for their community, so they simply haven't died as much.

But sometimes it seems we're so busy screaming about our rights we forget why those rights are important, or we don't realize our right to the pursuit of happiness doesn't mean we have the right to be happy all the time.

This constant need to prioritize one's own needs over the needs of the group isn't a Republican thing or Democrat thing, it's an American thing. Both my Democrat & Republican friends from across the country seem to be "done" with the constraints of a pandemic.

The attitude of "Three months is enough, I have to live my life!" is prevalent across the political spectrum. But a pandemic doesn't end just because we're fed up.

It hasn't ended, and, sadly, it is worse than when it started. We're in more danger of getting coronavirus going out than we were three months ago.

So I'm continuing to take the scientists' advice: Limiting & regulating my social interactions, wearing a mask, especially indoors, and skipping the large social gatherings for some time to come. It sucks, but I, and all of us, have faced worse.