Talking about freedom and the Constitution with my friend 

While sheltering in place and walking about Los Banos, I ran into a friend of mine, let’s call him Irving, who has a perspective on COVID-19 and other topics quite different from mine.

Irv and I had an extended conversation, 6 feet apart, about freedom — an apt topic while Americans still feel the glow of Independence Day. It’s also a topic many people have been discussing this past month for other reasons.

Irv has never worn a mask or other face-covering during the coronavirus pandemic because he felt it was an abridgement of his freedom. I told him I wore a face-covering out of respect for other people, just in case I was an asymptomatic or presymptomatic carrier of the coronavirus. He was not persuaded.

“It’s my constitutional right not to wear a mask,” Irv said. “And no one should make me. Just like in the business world or on a sinking ship, it’s ‘every man for himself.’”

Talking about face masks got Irv going on a bunch of other things he was or was not going to do, regardless of any regulation.

“I’m going to water my lawn any day or time I damn well feel like I want to,” Irv told me. “It’s my lawn and I want it green.” I asked him about the need to conserve water in a year when we didn’t get anywhere near the normal amount of rain. “We got plenty of water,” he replied. “Anybody who says we don’t is a fool.”

From water we went to another element, fire. “That reminds me,” Irv said. “I will be going camping this summer, and wherever I go, I’m gonna build myself a nice campfire.” Aren’t you concerned, I asked, about starting a wildfire that could destroy acres of land and hundreds of homes?

“It’s my constitutional right to make a fire,” he said. “After all, cave men did it all the time, and that was before constitutions. And what do I care about other people? What have they ever done for me, huh?

“And another thing,” Irving said. “I like beer. I like beer a lot, and on my way to my camp site or wherever else I want to go, I’m going to pop open a few cans and quench my thirst. There’s nothing like a nice cold beer while driving in the countryside.

“And don’t expect me to obey those stupid speed limits,” he added. “Imagine, going 55 miles an hour on a country road. I like to rev up my driving machine out there to 100.”

I asked Irv about other drivers on the road. “They’re just going to have to watch out for themselves,” he said. “I’m sick of having to watch out for other people. People need to act and think on their own and look out for themselves.

“That’s how America became great,” he continued, “especially out west in California. You don’t think the cowboys in the old days molly-coddled other guys out on the range. No, sir! They knew their constitutional rights then, each and every one of ‘em.”

Irving was definitely on a tear, but I was bold enough to try to offer a counterargument. “Don’t you think, Irv, you owe it to your neighbors and others in the community to act in ways that will protect their safety and ensure their wellbeing as well as yours?”

“There you go again, John,” he replied, “worrying about other people. Forget about ‘em. Just worry about yourself. Live and let live, I say. As the good book says, “I’m not my brother’s keeper.”

Now I was getting a little worried about Irv. I told him I didn’t think he had the right perspective on that scriptural passage. “What do you know about religion?” he interjected. “What are you, some kind of reverend? I got my constitutional right to freedom of religion, and don’t you go messin’ with that.

“Speaking about the Constitution,” he continued, “I don’t see nowhere in it that I got to pay taxes. It’s not in the Bill of Rights or nowhere. So I just don’t pay ‘em.”

“Because you’re not in the IRS files,” I replied, “I guess you didn’t get a stimulus check from the government.”

“Hell, yes,” he answered, “I figured out a way to get it. The gov’ment ain’t gonna cheat me out of my money.”

Even though we don’t see eye to eye, I like Irv. He’s a good guy to have a beer with, and I enjoy our conversations. He treats his family well and is kind to his dog. We just have different perspectives. I just hope he feels as strongly about other people’s freedom as he does about his own.

In memoriam: Los Banos lost an extraordinary woman in the recent passing of Virginia Sansoni. She was remarkable in so many ways: a smart businesswoman, a congenial hostess, a wise matriarch, a talented gardener, a knowledgeable traveler and a supportive partner to her husband Aldo.

Anyone who knew her felt her kindness and generosity. She was truly one of a kind. She will be deeply missed by her family and her many friends.

The world has lost a good man in the recent death of Jack Newins. Many Los Banosans remember Jack as a member of the community from 1994 to 2005, when his wife Anne served as dean of the Los Banos Campus. During that time Jack commuted to Merced to continue his work there as a psychologist, counselor and adjunct college professor.

Jack’s spirit remains with everyone who knew him, and memories of his warmth, intelligence, wit and kindness continue to be vivid and inspiring.