UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson now in intensive care unit

[dish rag]

I get what you are saying. But there are more parallels in smoking and this virus. The American Lung Association reports that between 1964 and 2014, 2.5 million people in the U.S. died from secondhand smoke. They didn’t ask for it. They were exposed, often through no choice or fault of their own. Many of them were just doing their jobs (servers, bartenders, flight attendants, etc.). It infuriates me when my kids are in a place where they have to be exposed to the smoke of others- even just having to walk by them in the street (or a pathway at a resort at Disney). So I understand how people get angry about those who are choosing not to stay at home.

It is not easy to balance the free choice of some with the harm those choices cause to others. How much can we legally limit behavior that causes harm to others? This comes up with smoking, alcohol, and social-distancing (and a number of other things). These are very tricky issues. Many cultures have decided that with this virus, we should err on the side of those to whom the harm is being done. But with other issues, laws tend to favor freedom. There is a lot to think about.

Very well said.