He never cared.

Inspired by a r/Texas post titled “They simply don’t care” by u/thorleifkristjan from February 18, 2021.

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When I watched how confident he looked while decreeing Texans were smart enough to care for themselves, I remembered seeing droves of mask-less people blithely enjoyed their lives in nightclubs while driving through the town on an average weekend.

When I listened to his trite rationale for the lifting of mask-wearing safety measures, I remembered how eerily similar it sounded from last year when the state subsequently confronted disastrous consequences.

When I heard how each man possessed their destiny to endure the virus without protection regardless of the dangers it posed, I remembered when a distant family member of mine–a middle-aged husband of my father’s niece and a peaceful soul–passed away after fighting it for weeks.

Was it his destiny to die–like 40 thousand others–so the asinine state, emboldened by its leader, could reopen in no time?

When I heard the crowd cheer for the announcement of the order, I understood the progress local leaders throughout the state have done to curtail the virus was immediately undone.

But worst of all, when I heard the news, I wondered about those who, I am sure, felt most devastated by their governor literally abandoning them: the healthcare worker.

A beleaguered, bereaved, mentally distraught, and defiantly valiant person residing in the front line was thoroughly disrespected. Why was he so inclined in continuing to despise what constitutes society's current lifeline?

Egotism over altruism.

Bigotry, vanity, and apathy over duty, humility, and humanity.

Wielding impunity over exercising basic decency.

He doesn’t try to feign a peace accord between the two different sides of opinion over how to combat the virus. He wants to breed severe discord.

This isn't supposed to be about sticking it to the non-conformist, or those who didn't question the existence of a flaring contagion when it appeared.

This is supposed to be about our survival from said viral executioner, that which its potency was aggravated behind mobs of ardent deniers and is poised to continue disproving false notions propagated by them.

Essentially declaring freedom in the 185th anniversary of the state's independence. The arrogance against the actual goodwill of the state speaks for itself.

You can easily imagine it coming from the safe confines of the person spewing it.

An Instagram comment by a frustrated nurse on the announcement could fittingly be used to echo the sentiments of her peers throughout the country, made by a leader operating with deaf ears while the cries of the afflicted are surely drowning out from their respective hospitals at this moment.

"I can speak for most nurses that feel overwhelmed, stressed, tired, and traumatized by having to put people in body bags that should be alive today."

It's not that the people are incensed of him for exhibiting his utter flatulence by way of the new order. He didn't just start to not care right then and there. He never did, and that’s the crux of the problem.