Letter to the Editor: "I learned Monday what corrupt government means"

(The following is a Letter to the Editor by Jason Madison of Decorah):

"Monday the Decorah City Council intended to pass a mask mandate, an education policy.

Well, I learned some things.

I learned: Our Mayor knowingly overstepped her authority. She asked the governor for permission for that authority.  Without waiting, she acted anyway.

I learned: The council doesn't care about facts, reason, or science.  Monday they heard facts about how minor of an impact this virus is having.  They didn't offer any data at all.  They offered fear and emotion.  I wonder how many of them have the sign that says, "We believe science is real."

I learned: They were not interested in the people's opinions.  About 12 showed up to speak.  Each had only four minutes.  As they grew tired of listening, they cut it to a minute and a half.  When asked if they had messages from the people, most didn't care enough to know the exact number or how many were for or against.

I learned: Their process requires three readings.  They intended to circumvent it by abdicating their responsibility to do all three.  They tried to cram this through in one night.

I learned: After failing to circumvent, they planned another meeting, Friday 7am, to rush the second and waive the third.  A time when most working people cannot come.

I learned: They had no expiration plan, no criteria to lift restrictions.  Effectively, they planned to change our lives forever.

I learned: They hastily threw together a document of convoluted logic, lack of reason, a bizarre list of exceptions, and disregard for the objective reality existing in Decorah.  To push it through, to skip rules, to subjugate the residents for the foreseeable future.

I learned:  I cannot trust our mayor or six of the council members.

I learned what corrupt government means.

Thank you for the education."