As a resident of Durango, I am one of the lucky ones. I contracted COVID-19 in March and I was able to recover thanks to the good assistance of our Mercy hospital nurses and doctors. And my profession allows me to work from a digital remote environment in my own home, but not all have that benefit.
As a community, we pride ourselves on our unique downtown experience, but I believe the unintended consequences of the mask ordinance has resulted in a fear gripping our community and furthermore presents a grave danger to our local restaurants, hotels and services. Not only for residents but for visitors, Durango represents a last bastion of the American pioneer and for those making the journey they come expecting a city equally rugged and enduring as themselves and to physically explore the great beauty around us.
We must recognize there are inherent risks with any fracture of liberty as it can potentially drain earnest people of their innate characteristics of work, sacrifice and providing for their families.
Franklin Roosevelt once said the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. We have been combating and winning the war against the virus. The residue that lingers is fear and it too must be vanquished.
Jaime McMillanDurango
