OPINION:
A Morning Consult tracking poll just found that for the first time in a year, when the coronavirus hit, more Americans than not feel comfortable eating at a restaurant, inside, at a table, seated among friends and strangers both. With face masks, without face masks, what have you — but inside, and eating.
If that sounds lame, it’s not. It shows America may finally be hitting the stage called coronavirus-weary.
And with $1.9 trillion tax dollars about to fly off Capitol Hill, give or take a billion or so, this stage is coming none too soon. America can’t afford much more stimulus. America needs to get back to work, and start making money the old-fashioned way — that is, not taking from Peter to pay Paul.
“Vaccine Progress Sparks Optimism Among Americans,” the poll stated.
On February 28, 51% of respondents in this Morning Consult survey said they’d be comfortable going to a restaurant; 46% said they’d be comfortable going to a shopping mall; 43%, going on vacation; and 32% going to a movie theater.
Compare that to January 2 when the response went like this: Only 37% said they’d feel comfortable going to a restaurant; 32%, going to a shopping mall; 29% going on vacation; and 21% going to a movie theater.
That’s a big jump.
That’s a sizable hike in confidence.
And it’s been on the upswing for some time.
“According to Morning Consult’s Return-to-Normal tracking, the share of U.S. adults that would fee comfortable to go on vacation, eat out or go to a mall right now is higher than it’s ever been over the past 12 months, with more than half of the respondents now ready to return to cafes or restaurants,” wrote Felix Richter for Statista.
Are you listening, Dr. Fauci?
It seems as if Americans may finally be waking up to the notion that on the coronavirus, the Democrats have lied. On coronavirus, the left has promised the end game — the return to normalcy — was just a flattened curve away, and that as soon as the numbers evened out America could get back to work, back to school, back to church, back to the beaches. Well, the curve’s been flat for some time. Yet on regulatory clampdowns, executive orders, mask mandates and double mask mandates and ridiculous non-scientific based “why not give it a try” plastic visors on the face recommendations — on all that and more, America is still waiting for government to go away. Save for a few brave governors in a few Republican-dominated states, Americans are by and large still held captive by the arbitrary and unreasonable demands of renegade power-hungry Democrats who are using the coronavirus to full political advantage.
But the power grabs may be coming to an end.
“With new cases and deaths trending downward and more and more positive news on the vaccine front,” Statista reported, “a sense of optimism is finally spreading throughout the country.”
Cue Etta James.
Sing it, sister. At last.
Whether it’s optimism or righteous anger over unjust crackdowns or simple weariness with the ever-changing standards of the bureaucratic health wonks — who cares. Who cares if in the end freedom reigns again.
Corona-weary. It’s time has certainly come.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Socialists Don’t Sleep: Christians Must Rise Or America Will Fall,” is available by clicking HERE.
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