At this point in the pandemic, here’s my prediction: Moving forward, particularly outside the most populated of metropolises, people aren’t gonna wear masks. They were willing to dress like surgeons as a very temporary measure; but they’re not prepared to adopt it as the new American lifestyle.

And attempts by officials to force citizens to keep their mouths and noses covered is going to be met with contempt, refusal, outrage, and all those other “We’re Not Gonna Take It” words.

The same, in my opinion, goes for everyone staying in their safe space.

Of course, some aren’t convinced I’m right. Such appeared to be the case with Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine during his Sunday appearance on CNN’s State of the Union.

Mike was upset by photos of people in Columbus — their faces were bare and they were near one another.

At a bar.

Jake had offered:

“I want you to look at these pictures from a bar in Columbus, Ohio on Friday. This is the first day that outdoor dining businesses were allowed to reopen.”

It was a scary sight indeed:

“That’s a pretty big crowd of people. They don’t seem to be wearing masks. They don’t seem to be separated from each other, six feet or whatever. Not a lot of distance between patrons. You’ve seen these images. Does it concern you?”

Mike is certainly worried:

“Absolutely. I saw those images very early, and we had people there last night.”

But some people got a talkin’ to:

“The good news is the ownership — people running the bar — seemed to get control of it last night. We didn’t have to issue any citations.”

Well. That’s good. But it wasn’t so great everywhere.

“We did issue a citation for another bar in Columbus. And, candidly…we’ve worked with the attorney general…and we’re going to whatever we have to do if these things…occur across Ohio. Wherever they occur. But ultimately, it’s going to come to Ohioans doing what Ohioans have done for the last two months, and that is…by and large done exactly what they should do — try to keep the distance. [W]e’re encouraging people to wear masks…but…it’s really going to be determined by what we do in the next month or so. What the fall looks like — when we hope to be able to open school — is going to depend on what we’re doing right now and in the next month or so.

You mean autumn — the point at which some have predicted we’ll see a viral resurgence?

To Mike and others trying to perpetually keep folks away from folks: It isn’t going to work.

It’s like Barbra Streisand sang: “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.”

And everyone wants to get lucky.

We weren’t made to stay apart. It might be said that that’s the very reason human beings have immune systems. We were designed to know, inherently, that one of God’s greatest gifts is the gift of one another.

And no virus can change human nature. Including the instinctive need to be free.

And if that comes across as criminal, call us Naughty By Nature.

Whether the populace should take one precaution or another, people can’t keep their distance forever. They can’t live afraid indefinitely.

As relayed by The Daily Caller, Mike shared his thoughts on a possible impending spike:

“Well, we certainly hope we don’t see that. What I’ve said to Ohioans this week is that so much is in every individual’s control, 11.7 million people in Ohio: We’ve got to continue…to keep the space. … This is probably the most dangerous time, because we are opening back up — because we have to open back up.”

Yes, we do. Many people are ready to open back up — in every way, including to those around them. Regardless of whether it’s “safe,” I believe it’s what people are increasingly going to do.

Otherwise, at some point, whether we’re sick or not, the virus has got us.

Going forward, what do you predict? Are you going to live six feet away, dressed like Quincy? Let us all know in the Comments section.

-ALEX

See 3 more pieces from me:

Just as You Expected: Police Report a 50% Increase in Robberies Thanks to Everyone Wearing Masks

Open Up and Say Ahh: The TSA May Soon Be Taking Your Temperature

New Yorker Travels to Hawaii for a Getaway But Doesn’t Get Away – From the Cops, for Going to the Beach

Find all my RedState work here.

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