THE MASK MATTERS: Last night, one of my staffers lost a close family friend who died alone in ICU on a ventilator, suffering from COVID-19. He had a family. He had people who cared about him. He had a future. Now it's gone. 
We can't lose track of each human story in the mountain of statistics this pandemic has become, even as Trump and Cornyn act like COVID-19 doesn't exist. From the national and state level, we get no clear guidance. The result is chaos.
My staffer and his wife took his car into the dealership today after voting, wearing a mask like responsible people do.
Nobody in the service area was wearing a mask because the county they live in has left it up to business owners to do what they want, even though cases are spiking quickly right now. His wife asked why nobody was using best safety practices.
The response from the person at the desk was "Don't scold me," and a bit later in the exchange, "I can't hear you because you are wearing a mask." The level of disregard was shocking.
But it's happening too often because we have politicized this pandemic instead of treating it like a public health disaster. This pandemic isn't about who does or does not support Trump.
It's not about freedom in the abstract. It's about people's lives. Wear the mask. It may not be about you. It may be about somebody you love. We have to take the lead.
