Too many won't admit they're wrong

Some people just can’t admit they were wrong.

Too many of these, unfortunately, turn out to be the staunchest backers of President Donald Trump.

They are so unable to admit they were wrong that even after Trump recanted his previous pooh-poohing of the coronavirus threat, they stand by Trump’s original opinions.

The prime examples, in my humble opinion, are:

• Tony Spell, the Louisiana pastor of the Life Tabernacle Church in Central, Louisiana, who continues to crowd his church for worship services despite the pandemic. It keeps the collection plates full.

• The people who are going out of their way to crowd Life Tabernacle services, bringing God knows how many coronaviruses with them.

• Jerry Falwell Jr., the president of Liberty College in Lynchburg, Virginia. Falwell is welcoming students back to his church-based college. Better to lose students to a super-contagious, painful disease than their tuition checks, I suppose.

• Rush Limbaugh, who still insists death rates from COVID-19 are being exaggerated only to affirm the draconian policies of governments in response. Rush, why would even dictators take joy in policies that cause widespread hardship and threaten their economies?

• Tucker Carlson, who now says real experts, the elected officials who are trying to out-Trump Trump — not the medical professionals who have merely devoted their lives to fighting disease and are now on the front line — should be making health-related decisions. In fact, he says, “One of the main lessons of this crisis is that the public health establishment failed us badly.” You were in the vanguard of those who delayed the good they could do, Tucker.

• Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. I saved the worst for last. DeSantis’ response to the pandemic? Allowing thousands of college students to crowd Florida beaches over spring break, permitting large groups of people to gather in churches, and being one of the last governors to impose a stay-at-home order, then prohibiting Florida cities from enacting anything more stringent.

Florida is the third most populous state in the nation with more than 21 million residents. Its proportion of seniors is the nation’s highest at 19 percent. Seniors are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19. Florida hosts about 100 million visitors a year from all over the world. DeSantis’ denial is unconscionable.

Adding insult to injury, DeSantis also prohibited cruise ships with COVID-19 victims aboard from docking in his state until Trump himself ordered otherwise. DeSantis said he didn’t know Americans were on those ships. Right.

As of Friday, Florida has recorded 9,577 COVID-19 cases and 163 deaths, the eighth highest toll among U.S. states.

I acknowledge the rights to worship and assemble freely, but coronaviruses can neither read nor understand rights.

The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading at geometric rates, it causes disproportionate fatalities, and until we learn more about it, the only way to control it is to keep a safe distance from each other.

It’s an emergency equivalent to war, and some rights must be suspended for a while, even with an enemy visible only to electron microscopes.

Trump is listening. His followers should be, too.

Steve Hansen writes for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him at:

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