Journeys through two states found Americans leading starkly different lives in the pandemic. New Mexico feels at a standstill. In South Dakota, life is going right on.
In one pandemic reality, restaurants are packed. There are no coronavirus limits at college-town bars. No social-distancing dots speckling the floor. Some people are wearing masks, but even a weak proposal to make it a requirement in one city prompted an outcry. Welcome to South Dakota.
In another, hundreds of miles to the south, much of life is shut down. No dining inside restaurants. Capacity limits at Walmart. Shuttered bookstores, museums, hair salons, parks. A mask-wearing culture so widespread that someone put one on an old statue. Welcome to New Mexico.
This is the view from America’s two discordant, dissonant pandemic realities. Continue reading.