Are we getting the leadership we need from Gov. McMaster amid the COVID-19 spike?

On McMaster

Thank you to Opinion Editor Roger Brown for his well-stated opinion piece in the June 24 edition.

There is no doubt that the “I ain’t gonna do it” club is ignoring the advice to wear face masks and social distance. But let’s face it: you cannot penetrate the brain of self-imposed ignorance, and that is what we have in this state and others when it comes to COVID-19. I for one have long given up on that challenge because it wastes my time and energy.

Where I believe the real issue lies is in the lack of responsible leadership that we taxpaying citizens have a right to expect from Gov. Henry McMaster.

Instead of McMaster saying loudly and often that he expects citizens to wear masks — or simply wearing one himself — the governor prefers to offer up platitudes like “please follow the advice” or “I’m concerned.”

Instead of McMaster putting monetary mandates in place when the “I ain’t gonna do it” club refuses to wear face masks, the governor prefers to implement discriminatory plans like the Palmetto Priority Pledge, which asks restaurants to voluntarily commit to following its guidelines.

Until McMaster can find his backbone, buck the Trump Doctrine of “I have no responsibility” and do the job of leading that he was elected to do, the inconsiderate and willfully ignorant will continue to whistle their way through diseased Dixie — and infect those who are trying their best to stay safe and keep others safe.

We deserve better leadership. And if McMaster won’t provide it, we should insist on his departure.

Carol Dodson, Elgin

On COVID-19

I am disturbed that our area has become the scapegoat for COVID-19 cases.

On May 15 hotels were allowed to take reservations, and we had less than 300 COVID-19 cases in this area; that number has since increased to the point where we now have 100 or more cases each day.

Here are some facts since the May reopening:

▪ During the first two weekends after the reopening, only 10% of visitors were observed to be wearing masks.

▪ The occupancy rates rose from 3% to 74%.

▪ The rental community increased by 25 times what it was before the reopening.

So what did you think would happen when the decision was made to allow people to come to the beach? Now I don’t see our COVID-19 case numbers coming down until after August 15, which is typically when the visiting season concludes.

If the people who want to visit here are feeling concerned about what’s going on, they should do themselves and all of the residents here a favor: they should stay home and just come here next year when all of this is in our rearview mirror.

Thomas Adams, Murrells Inlet

On Obama

When will those who railed against President Barack Obama while he was in office — and who continue to do so even though he’s no longer in the White House — ever wake up to the fact that unadulterated simple racism is at the root of their animus?

They bash Obamacare — yet they can’t cite a single directive in the health care plan.

They accuse Obama of being too liberal when he was president — or too conservative.

They criticize him for having a foreign policy that was too lax — or one that was too aggressive.

If those who are so preoccupied with bashing Obama would examine the inherent racism that drives their loathing, they might learn something very revealing about themselves.

Beverly Watrous, Myrtle Beach

On coronavirus

I am an 86-year-old South Carolinian.

And I am disposable.

My wife, my children, my grandchildren and even most of my friends do not think that I am disposable. But Gov. Henry McMaster seems to think that I am.

McMaster says that South Carolinians should be responsible enough to social distance — and to wear masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus — without needing government orders.

But there are many things that our society — and the government we create — has justification to require our citizens to do, and they are not optional things that are left up to relying on individual responsibility.

For example:

▪ We don’t have the option of deciding whether we want our children to receive an education.

▪ We don’t have the option of driving while drunk.

▪ We don’t have the option of injuring or killing someone we don’t like.

And in the midst of a pandemic, citizens should not feel that it’s merely optional to wear face masks or to practice social distancing. But Gov. McMaster says these things are optional.

Why?

Because I am disposable.

Bob Moore, Columbia