Author: TheConversation

By John E. Finn, Professor Emeritus of Government, Wesleyan University Many public health professionals and politicians are urging or requiring citizens to wear face masks to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Some Americans have refused, wrongly claiming mask decrees violate the Constitution. An internet search turns up dozens of examples. “Costco Karen,” for instance, staged a sit-in in a Costco entrance in Hillsboro, Oregon after she refused to wear a mask, yelling “I am an American … I have rights.” A group called Health Freedom Idaho organized a protest against a Boise, Idaho, mask mandate. One...

By Tabitha Moses, MD/PhD Candidate, Wayne State University Sometimes war involves battling other countries. Other times, it is the metaphorical kind, like our current “war” against the coronavirus. We see this war reflected in the language that gets used by politicians, policymakers, journalists and healthcare workers. As the “invisible enemy” rolled in, entire economies halted as populations “sheltered in place.” We were told to “hunker down” for the long battle ahead and to “support our troops,” the health care workers, fighting on the “front lines.” These military-inspired metaphors serve a purpose. Unlike the dense linguistic landscape of science and...

By Edie Goldenberg, Professor of Public Policy; Professor of Political Science, University of Michigan As millions of Americans prepare to vote in November – and in many cases, primaries and state and local elections through the summer as well – lots of people are talking about voting by mail. It is a way to protect the integrity of the country’s voting system and to limit potential exposure to the coronavirus, which continues to spread widely in the United States. I am a political scientist and part of a National Academy of Public Administration working group offering recommendations to ensure...