Flint Street in Laramie, normally busy in the spring with the activity of college students and other residents, has been noticeably quieter since the outbreak arrived in Wyoming. (Andrew Graham/WyoFile)

An open letter to those who deny or doubt the importance of virus precautions:

Let’s frame it this way: America is at war. The enemy is a virus that has invaded our shores and is killing innocent Americans.

  • 2,403 people died in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This led us to declare war.
  • 2,977 people died on 9/11 and we started a war on terror.
  • 9,654 innocent Americans have been killed by this virus enemy as of April 6. The enemy doubled the number of Americans it killed in one day, and it is still advancing.

You have two choices in this war. You can stay at home and deny the enemy its means to kill Americans, or you can be a collaborator and help the enemy kill more Americans.

Which will you be?

Will you be a patriot and do everything you can in this war to thwart the enemy? Or will you aid and abet the enemy in taking over our country and killing innocent Americans?

Let’s make this clear: You aid and abet the enemy by leaving home, circulating among others and being casual in your behaviors. The enemy is insidious and invisible. It has a gift for stealth. Its weaponizes surfaces for its next victim. It prey s on your complacency.

Our frontline soldiers in this war are our medical practitioners and experts. Listen to the battlefield advice of these seasoned soldiers. They have seen the enemy firsthand, engaged in daily combat, and are risking their lives for us every day. And they are asking us — begging us — to stay home.

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There are many workers in essential services who must leave home to help the rest of us, and they are valued soldiers in this effort, too. Don’t jeopardize their health.

War is hard. It demands sacrifice. World War II required Americans to dramatically alter their day-to-day lives, including surviving on rationed goods and foods, living with travel restrictions and adapting to shifts in production.

Today’s war effort requires sacrifice, too. 

We must engage the enemy head on, with a fully committed and strategic attack to defeat it. That strategic attack requires us to change our behaviors now. Only once we all unite in battle to fight this enemy, will we win this war and return to the America of freedom and prosperity that we all treasure.

Sincerely,

Steff Kessler

Lander, Wyoming

Steff Kessler

Steff Kessler is a rural Lander resident, mom of three kids, former school board member and former Fremont County Commissioner. She appreciates the sense of history her father — a WWII Army Colonel —...

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  1. Those of us fortunate enough to have grown up hearing the first hand stories of the survivors of the World Wars are now experiencing just a little of what they went through. I urge those of you familiar with those stories to stop and think about how much better off we are today than they were then. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, duckduckgo or google it. You’ll find lots of stories on line. Read some of them, then stop and think how much better off we are today than they were then. And then, step up and do your part for today’s war effort. We’re all in this together. Let’s take care of each other (from six-feet apart, of course).

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