Tom Malinowski: “For the last 3 months, tens of millions of our fellow Americans have chosen to make painful sacrifices to keep one…”

“For the last 3 months, tens of millions of our fellow Americans have chosen to make painful sacrifices to keep one another safe. They made that choice before any Governor of any State told them they had to. They did what they thought was right, what was decent, what was responsible. Overwhelmingly, the American people still believe that social distancing to protect our neighbors is the right thing to do even where States have lifted stay-at-home orders. You wouldn't know this by watching the news because the news dwells on conflict, not consensus. The loudest voices say: ``Reopen everything now. Yes, people will die, but people die of car crashes, of cancer, of heart disease. We don't stay home for that.'' The angriest voices say: ``Go to the grocery store. Throw off your mask. Make them call the police.'' They pretend to be brave. They shout childish slogans about liberty, as if liberty meant the right to endanger the lives of others for our own convenience. On social media, there is an effort to make everything about this pandemic partisan; as if whether you are a Democrat or Republican should determine what medicines you should take or whether you should wear a mask. I have been to plenty of countries where everything is made to be political, where everything is made to be tribal. I never thought I would see people in the United States of America trying to make our country like that. But, Mr. Speaker, America is not like that.…”