Curfew
November 20, 2020–The mere thought of a curfew makes me shudder. I was perusing the various online news sources (CNN, NY Times, NY Post, Washington Post, Yahoo and the local newspapers) along with social media sites (Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, Parler, etc.), and multiple headlines awakened me from my zombie like scrolling stupor–“Governor Newsom considers curfew for purple tier counties”. Questions naturally arise when confronted with a brazen attempt at martial law: What scientific facts lead a person in power to make this decision? Does COVID attack between the hours of 10PM and 5AM? By limiting peoples movement, are you setting the stage for future arbitrary curfews? What is your true intention Governor? This is what happens when you fall into a “scrolling” social media worm hole. It happens quite often now a days. The pandemic has left massive gaps in my time management that has been filled with mind numbing information overload. There are moments when you become lost in the endless chaos, meaningless content, and salacious information that has absolutely zero bearing on your life. But every once in a while there is a golden Easter egg like this one that catches your attention and tells you to awaken from your news induced slumber. The implications of a mandated curfew set upon the citizens of a supposedly free state are, at best, earth shattering; at minimum a last ditch effort for our government to show they are trying to control an uncontrollable pandemic. At this stage in the game, I am hard pressed to find anything in the news that holds a shred of truth. If there is truth sprinkled somewhere in the depths of the opinion laden major news outlets, sincerity in Trump’s addiction to spreading lies on Twitter, and the expanding disconnect between States responses to our global reckoning (COVID-19); then I must act like Indiana Jones and be willing to dive headfirst into the tangled web we have weaved. Later that day, I told my wife and kids about the prospect of a curfew and they were also in disbelief. We decided to laugh it off as another bluff or ploy by our government to scare us into social distancing and mask wearing requirements. “No way this is going to happen”, I told my wife and three children, but somewhere within my subconscious I knew my words were empty reminders of pre-pandemic civil liberties that I had taken for granted.
November 22, 2020–Day ONE of the California curfew. I had to eat my words from two days prior. It’s become readily apparent I am not Nostradamus. For some reason, I keep placing my trust and faith in reason, but our leaders continue to fail us at every level. We (Fresno County along with 40 other counties) have been told to do the following by Governor Newsom: comply with a state mandated curfew that limits non-essential travel from our home between the hours of 10PM and 5AM beginning on November 21st at 10PM and lasts until December 21st, cancel Thanksgiving celebrations, indoor dining has been rescinded, bars are closed, and most entertainment related businesses are shut down for at least another month. Some county Sheriff’s in the “great” state of California have been vocal in the media regarding their inability to enforce a curfew; therefore, they will not focus any resources to this endeavor. This is not to say all Sheriff’s feel that way, so does this mean I have to check which County is enforcing these pseudo-laws and which are not? What are the consequences if I am found to be out after curfew? While trying to answer these questions for myself, my son who is 19 years old was walking out the front door last night around 10PM to drive to a friends house. I was on the couch watching a show and gave him the cliche Dad advice “Be safe”. He paused at the front door and asked if he should be careful of the curfew. I was surprised by his question. I had never considered he might be at risk of a possible negative interaction with law enforcement because of this mandate. My prior experience as a law enforcement officer told me he was safe and that 99.99% of police officers and Sheriff’s were humans who knew the difference between letter of the law and spirit of the law. Further, law enforcement officials have families and friends in the community and they would never want to enforce unjust laws. Armed with this knowledge, I tried to reassure him that he would be all right, and to do his best to enjoy the time with his friends. As he walked out the door, the internal conflict resumed over whether I am going to allow fear of the unknown to creep and crawl around my psyche, acceptance and denial, trust versus outright rage, and an unwavering hope that people will continue to love one another in the midst of the ethical rot that has infected our political systems.