LESSON: In science and history

I typically have a dubious response whenever someone opines about what the “Founding Fathers” would have thought about a certain set of circumstances existing today. Attempting to divine the thoughts and opinions of persons who lived hundreds of years ago seems a tall task, even for historians.

In the recently published letter of Scott Schwirian, he stated:

“Our founding fathers would be rolling around in their graves if they could see what this country has become. Do you think we could have won the Revolutionary War with this lot of depressing little whiney sissy babies that fill America these days? I think not!”

Now, I do not know Mr. Schwirian’s historical palmares, and I admit to not being a historian. But, I have learned that one of the Founding Fathers, George Washington, had to confront a smallpox epidemic during the early stages of the Revolutionary War. Washington quarantined the troops from the general population, isolated anyone suspected of having been infected and required all troops to be inoculated.

So, to answer Mr. Schwirian’s question: No, I don’t think we would have won the Revolutionary War if people were not quarantined, were not isolated and were not inoculated. In fact, we could have lost the war had Washington not insisted on those actions.

Whose actions are more patriotic? The actions of Washington described above, or the actions of Mr. Schwirian and his ilk who scoff at science, refuse to quarantine, refuse to isolate and refuse to wear a mask?

IAN SMITH

Coeur d’Alene