It's a pretty fair assumption that many people are tired of all the restrictions that surround the government's reaction to the Wuhan Chinese virus.
They're tired of the business limitations. They're tired of being unable to obtain unemployment benefits made necessary because government orders put them out of a job. They're tired of being nagged and scolded to wear masks and being told where not to go on vacation. Of constantly hearing that they are incapable of making their own decisions. Of not being able to celebrate weddings and properly mourn deceased friends and relatives. Of being told they can't worship as they see fit. Of being berated for protesting to have their lives and livelihoods restored while other protesters are celebrated for their passion and dedication to a righteous cause. Of not being allowed to have a certain number of guests at their homes. Of seeing their annual traditions disrupted and being told that things won't get back to normal until a vaccine is rushed to market and everyone will be strongly encouraged to get it as we become a nation full of guinea pigs.
And can you blame them? There are a lot of compliant folks out there who are perfectly happy to robotically smile behind a face covering and do whatever the government tells them without question, but there are a whole lot of others of us who are sick of it all and are ready to get back to living, knowing that freedom is never free and there's always a risk associated with living life.
Disruptions have already made this a year like no other. The state high school basketball tournaments were canceled -- the girls tournament was stopped in between games of a two-game afternoon session. The Kentucky Derby was postponed from May and won't be the first race of the Triple Crown. No fans were allowed at Kentucky Speedway's NASCAR Cup Series race, nor at the abbreviated Keeneland spring meet. The Fancy Farm picnic wasn't held. Kentucky and Louisville won't be playing their annual Governor's Cup football game. The primary election was pushed back a month and conducted mostly by early main-in voting, which probably affected the outcome of the Democrats' U.S. Senate race. School terms ended early and graduates were denied commencement ceremonies. The list goes on.
There's also a plethora of local events that are going by the wayside this year. A number of popular community festivals have been canceled. Among them are Jackson's Honey Festival, Campton's Swift Silver Mine Festival, Stanton's Corn Festival, Irvine's Mountain Mushroom Festival, the World Chicken Festival in London, the NIBROC Festival in Corbin, Hazard's Black Gold Festival, the Apple Festival in Paintsville, Pikeville's Hillbilly Days, and probably the biggest one of them all, Mt. Sterling's Court Days.
With all these communities caving in to fear and overbearing executive edicts, which may very well be ruled unconstitutional by the Kentucky Supreme Court, one has to wonder if there's a locale that will finally stand up and say, "We're tired of this nonsense. We're going to have our event and trust people to make up their own minds about whether or not they should attend."
It wouldn't be too surprising if that community is not my own hometown. Beattyville's Woolly Worm Festival is always held in mid- to late-October, the weekend after Mt. Sterling's Court Days. As of now, festival organizers are planning to go ahead with their popular annual event. Some of them have been pretty vocal about their disdain for all the government-ordered closures and restrictions. They might be feeing particularly rebellious, and even more so if the executive mandates continue into fall.
Lee County has already set a precedent for going ahead with something that was discouraged or prohibited elsewhere. At a time when the government was saying yard sales weren't allowed, and many of the well-known corridor sales were called off, local organizers went ahead with the 50-Mile Yard Sale along KY 52 in Breathitt, Lee, and Estill counties in early July. Participation from both shoppers and vendors was down from normal years, but the event still went off without a hitch. There's nothing to suggest that anyone came down with the virus at the yard sale -- Lee County still only has three recorded cases, and all three patients have recovered -- so all the fears that the purveyors of "panic porn" pushed were unfounded.
(It should be noted that the granddaddy of them all, the World's Longest Yard Sale along US 127 through Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and then extending on down beyond 127's terminus in Chattanooga into Alabama, is still planned for this weekend. When asked about the event at a press conference last week, Gov. Andy Beshear said he had never heard of the 127 Yard Sale.)
Still, it would be encouraging to see the resistance start here in my little corner of the world. Someone needs to lead the charge back to some semblance of normal. Not a "new normal" that we hear so much about. Real "normal." The old "normal." A world where people arm themselves with the best available information, make their own decisions, and choose their own destinies. If people want to attend a street festival, they can, and should be free to do so. And if people choose to stay home and not attend, they will get that option as well.
As for me, I'm not a fan of these types of events. I don't like crowds, and I'm not particularly fond of the disruptions they cause for traffic and for businesses. So I typically don't attend. But lots of people love festivals. They love the food and the fellowship and the booths. And many who love them are choosing to forego attendance at such activities this year out of caution. Why not give them that choice? I might even go this year in a small gesture to stick it to "the man."
This is my hometown's chance to stand out and be a leader in the "Reopen Kentucky" movement. Let's hope festival organizers seize the opportunity. Maybe others will follow suit and we can reclaim our lives before 2020 ends.
