There is in our country such a multitude of concerns right now that many of us are overwhelmed, anxious, depressed, or all of the above. We are supposed to be celebrating our nation’s birthday, but it is hard to feel celebratory.

It is a challenge to cope. Some of us are able to manage balancing caution, reason, information and distraction successfully. Our worries include the upcoming election and secure, safe, unsuppressed voting; systemic racial inequalities and subsequent protests and rioting; the inefficient and expensive healthcare system; global warming and all its effects; the economic and political influences and interferences of China and Russia; and above all, the pandemic which is raging in the United States, while other countries have gotten it under control.

Why all these worries? Why do we feel like things keep getting worse and worse? One reason could be our lack of confidence in our leadership at the top.

This country has weathered crises before, but we could at least be secure in the knowledge that our president was doing everything he could to protect us. Presidents Bush and Obama had plans in place to fight a pandemic. They were ignored.

The things that have been done by our current president and his administration — the weakness, incompetence, ignorance of the rule of law, the excuses, lies and denials — have contributed to the fear and distrust we feel. Had the federal government been led responsibly from the first notification of the covid virus, we would be on an equal plane with the other advanced countries of the world whose governments reacted immediately. Other countries took to wearing masks, social distancing, testing and tracing right away. Our president still refuses to set an example by wearing a mask and is holding rallies where they are not required.

His followers don’t believe in the effectiveness of masks, and the message being given is that it is “anti-american” to require masks. We have enough scientific evidence that proves that masks and social distancing significantly slow the spread of the virus and if both parties wear a mask and are 6 feet apart, the protection is very good.

In 1918, a flu pandemic spread across the globe, and it was the U.S. that led the world in mask wearing. The virus of a century ago was being spread by soldiers fighting in WWI and when the war ended, manufacturers of gas masks switched to influenza masks. Back then, mask wearing was felt to be a symbol of patriotism, drawing from the war.

Today, there is an effort to perverse mask wearing and social distancing efforts as anti-american even though it is done to save lives. Mask wearing in 1918 was largely accepted and although some protesting was recorded, belief in it was instilled in the population. Those who refused to wear masks were labeled “mask slackers.”

We are not leading the world now. We have observed that Asian countries took to wearing masks immediately. They have dealt with disease outbreaks more frequently since 1918, and being tightly populated, have maintained mask wearing in their culture, where Europe and the US have not had to. Now in the US, people are uncomfortable and some are downright fighting it, even though it is our best weapon against the virus until medical treatments and a vaccine are developed. It is the only way to afford ourselves a bit of normalcy and still stay healthy.

We are lucky to live in an area that has so far not been hit hard by the virus. But the summer weather is tempting to us to get out and enjoy. If we can do that and still practice distancing and mask-wearing, being mindful and respectful of others and cautious for ourselves, avoid crowds, and remember that the virus does not go on hold because of nice weather, we can still do some of the fun summer things.

People who act irresponsibly and gather in large parties, especially indoors, can inadvertently endanger not only other partiers but someone who has been being careful and just happens to be shopping in the same aisle, three or four days later.

We are also lucky to live in a state that has a governor who is leading us through this sensibly and according to data and planning. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has done a good job of protecting New Yorkers so far, but we, the people, whom he has credited with the success up to now, must not relax our guard. Even though we here are not experiencing the worst, it is not guaranteed that it will stay that way. States that ignored the data and the warnings of the scientific community, that followed Trump’s blind faith that it would just “disappear on its own” are now suffering. The hospitals in some cities in several states are being overwhelmed right now, just as was feared in New York city three months ago.

Our governor is telling the president to “put a mask on it.” His example is needed to get the country moving in the right direction and all on the same page. He would do well to listen to our governor. We need the states to all be adopting the preventative measures, regardless of the party in charge, with leadership from the federal government, if we ever can take this off our list of worries!

Susan Bigler is a Sheridan resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com