Sam Doctor

The pandemic has had a major economic impact in our community. Many of us have lost jobs, or have friends and neighbors who are now unemployed because of the slowdown.

Family-owned businesses have failed. Many of us will be saddled with expensive medical bills made worse by leaves of absence from work to quarantine or recover from illness.

Much of this damage occurred long before the recent spike in cases in our county, but the virus has spread further in Butler County today than it has at any other point since the start.

However, we are not helpless during this challenging time.

Now, more than ever, with cases on the rise, it is imperative that we wear masks while working, shopping, and doing the necessary errands that we cannot do remotely.

This is among the best gestures we can make to show support for our community. If we can slow the spread of the virus, we can prevent further action from the state government, keep businesses open, and make it less likely that our friends and neighbors will lose their jobs or miss time from work.

The easiest way to do that is to wear masks, even when we know we do so in an overabundance of caution.

This is not a sign of fear. It’s a sign of personal responsibility. When you wear your mask, you are saying to the rest of our community that you are willing to make a small sacrifice to help others, and when your neighbors see you, they know that you are willing to experience a small discomfort to help strangers and friends. You are showing others that you take responsibility for the well-being of your community.

A steelworker, Samuel Doctor is a union representative for United Auto Workers Local 3303.