The rush to re-open

It is June. Gov. Jay Inslee’s March Stay Home Stay Safe emergency proclamation expired at midnight on May 31. The Safe Start 4 Phase, metric-based reopening plan is in its fifth week, with 27 of Washington’s 39 counties approved and in Phase 2. Skagit County may move into Phase 2 this week. Already casinos on tribal lands – managed by sovereign governments – have opened for business at reduced capacity.

La Conner’s business owners are a diverse lot, like any community of any size. Some restaurants have been completely closed since March. Others never stopped serving coffee and ice cream and ripped tape boxes off the sidewalk in front of them. All are carefully preparing to reopen based on state guidances. There are a wide range of responses to the state’s rules.

Haircuts were being given Monday. Tourists on weekends have been in at more than a couple of First Street shops, shops that have had their signboards out and their open signs lit.

Skagit County’s commissioners petitioned the state for a variance to move to Phase 2 on May 22 and applied to open Monday. The first was rejected and the second is in process. The county’s population – residents, owners and workers – are all under Inslee’s Safe Start proclamation order. For retail, the words are clear:

“Phase 1 Curbside Retail COVID-19 Requirements: In-store retail activity is not authorized under these Phase 1 requirements.”

Mayor Ramon Hayes has led the chorus locally protesting that jewelry stores cannot sell jewelry – Hayes owns a jewelry store – and yarn shops cannot sell yarn, but Fred Meyer and Walmart have all their retail departments open as well as their grocery business. True. Big corporations take advantage of every situation and are again. That is the nature of our culture.

Hayes and government leaders are singing from the playbook of wear masks and maintain social distancing. Skagit County Public Health staff have kept up a steady drumbeat recommending everyone wear masks. Skagit County leaders are not the type to mandate such requirements, though masks are required when you step onto the San Juan islands.

“Personal responsibility” is the watchword in Skagit County. The politicians promote individuals wear masks and shopkeepers not let anyone enter their store who is not masked. Elected officials can be taken at face value and county staff have edicts and plans in place to consult, provide guidance and also conduct contact tracing when people test positive.

It is not a system and not methodical. Like any community, some will obey, others will report violators and still others will violate, either out of ignorance or willfully.

Back in the days when the Soviet Union was a well-defined and clearly located enemy, President Ronald Reagan preached the mantra of “trust, but verify.” The Soviets could offer arm control treaties and provide pens for their signing, but those agreements had verification requirements baked into them before they were finalized.

That era of tough talk followed by strict, specific rule-based treaties is past. No government at any level can sign treaties with every one of its citizens. The personal responsibility rallying cries ring hollow when there are no teeth in guidances and no enforcement.

Every one of us is thrust into – or can ignore – the role of citizen as a civil defense advocate for herself or himself. Almost none of us will report the lax or even out of guidance – illegal, perhaps – behavior of follow citizens trying to earn a living, even if they are not masked and allow people to stand too close together. Each of us is suddenly cast in the role of being presidential, needing to carry a pocketful of pens around and being on the ready to sign multiple individual treaties of mutual safe conduct or rip potential treaties up and prepare to blockade – well at least individually boycott – rogue, out of compliance businesses.