The people of Maine are in a quandary. Some want to go back to a more “normal” life, while others want to shelter in place until a vaccine is developed or until the virus disappears.

Those who want to go out and face life are not asking for anything from those who wish to stay home. They feel they are able to take a chance on the possibility they may contract the virus, and they also feel that the chance of death from the encounter is so remote that they can accept it to regain their livelihood. However, those preferring shelter call these folks “selfish” and demand that they, too, stay home.

Those who prefer to stay at home are safe. If they choose to venture to a store or some other outdoor activity, they have masks, gloves, distancing and any other prophylactic they may wish to don for protection. They get to act in accordance with their wishes, but they deny the same right to those with whom they disagree.

The virus is not going away no matter how long people try to avoid it. A vaccine could take months or years to develop. At some point people have to face life again. Unless someone is able to work from home, is retired or is financially independent, that day of reckoning will be there.

Let the healthy and willing face things now. For those sheltering to demand that other healthy people capitulate to their demands is the ultimate example of selfishness.

Gerald Caruso
Falmouth