ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” article. This is an editorial by the editor.

I was astonished Monday evening when I learned that more than 80 percent of parents and citizens insist students attend Wayland schools in person in the classroom five days a week.

I was astonished over how many people are willing to send our children, educators and support staff into an arena that puts their lives at risk. Even if the death rate is low, it feels like we are condemning them to play Russian Roulette.

Therefore, I emphatically support the recommendation of Supt. Dr. Christina Hinds to stay the course with the hybrid model of attending school, blending small class sizes and on-line instruction. Dr. Hinds’ most important task and that of the Wayland Board of Education, is to assure the health, safety and welfare of the students, teachers and staff. She appears to be doing just that, over the objections of what has been presented as the popular will of the people.

Though I often bemoan federal and state lawmakers’ nasty habit of ignoring the wishes of the electorate, there are times in which the public servant must overrule the people. French philosopher Jean-Jaques Rousseau, one of the earliest champions of democracy, acknowledged times that the will of the people can err.

An interesting sidebar to this debate is that I so often hear from Constitutionalist Freedom Riders that the United States is not a democracy, but a republic. The former emphasizes the people deciding, the latter’s key component is choosing representatives to make those decisions on our behalf.

Yet the promoters of a republic in this case reject the deciders and opt for the will of the people.

I don’t think for a minute that parents and citizens wish teachers and students to become seriously ill or die. However, I charge them with lacking the wisdom to make a good choice and turn away from initiating a process that may be more convenient, but dangerous.

Perhaps the most egregious offender in this issue is athletics. Too many of us want the games to continue without proper attention paid to the health, welfare and safety of the kids. That’s just how much athletics has become more important than it should be in our modern society.

My son, Robby, is a physics and earth science teacher in Colorado Springs and he coaches cross country and track. He loves what he does, but when the Rampart School District in August seriously considered having in-person classes five days a week, he seriously considered resigning.

Now comes information that Martin High School, which had in-person classroom instruction five days a week, has shut down for two weeks and two varsity football games have been canceled. The very same thing happened to Plainwell High School.

All because of the threat of the Coronavirus.

It is no secret that the United States has 4.5% of the world’s population and nearly 25% of the Covid-19 cases worldwide. Some medical experts have suggested that we Americans have done a terrible job of taking the virus seriously by refusing the mask up, keep our distance and practice good hygiene habits.

And just when we thought we’ve flattened the curve and case numbers are reduced, the virus has regained its chops twice. Medical people now tell us we may be in for a really tough fall and winter.

America’s two greatest mistakes were refusing to wear masks indoors in confined areas and fighting the virus in 50 different ways in 50 different states. If it’s true we are fighting a war against a deadly invisible enemy, then we need to meet the challenge as if we are at war with one unified response.

Meanwhile, I am disappointed in those who have made the Coronavirus a political rather than a health issue and continue to spread it by not wearing masks. Some of them are elected officials guilty of a callous disregard for others’ lives.

I applaud Dr. Hines and hope she stays strong in the face of misguided popular will.