LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The governor started his press conference today by quoting revolutionary war naval hero John Paul Jones, who when ordered to surrender by the British, he said, "I have not yet begun to fight."
Asa Hutchinson's intent of course was to show resilience and continued perseverance in the face of the continuing battle against COVID-19.
The problem with the analogy is that John Paul Jones and his sailors were all fighting on the same side. They were united. They were committed. Not so in the battle against the coronavirus.
There's an unevenness in our efforts.
In the same press conference today, a reporter from Northeast Arkansas, where Covid numbers are surging, maintained law enforcement he'd talked to was not committed to helping maintain the Governor's mask mandate.
And, another problem, we've all gotten too used to Covid's presence. I don't think we're as vigilant as we used to be. The numbers we're seeing tell us that.
With Halloween, elections, the onset of winter, and moving indoors, Thanksgiving, Christmas— we've got to remain united.
Infighting and finger-pointing have got to stop or the hospitalizations never will.
Or to put it another way... what if the British had demanded John Paul Jones surrender and he had responded with, "I have not yet begun to fight, but I will as soon as I can get everybody on the same page and believe that by working together we can form a new country. You'll see."
It's time to get on the right side of history.