— from Michael Riordan —

As the Fourth of July weekend begins, the nation to the east that some of us call ‘Merica seems in utter disarray — afflicted by police violence and racial unrest unlike anything witnessed in half a century, a severe pandemic that has taken over 125,000 lives and may eventually rival the Civil War in casualties, and over 15 million out of work.

We in the San Juan Islands have been largely insulated from this unparalleled chaos. But it is hardly time for the usual parades, picnics and fireworks.

Is this what the current US president meant when he promised to make America great again? Is this what he implied by his inaugural slogan, “America First”?
The United States is certainly first among nations in coronavirus deaths. With only about 4 percent of the world’s population, we have experienced almost a quarter of its Covid-19 deaths — far more than Brazil or Russia.

And it sure seems that the rest of ‘Merica wants desperately to join us here in our relatively safe islands, if the surging rivers of cars coming off the Anacortes ferry are any indication. Although the great majority are from Washington and Oregon, I have so far witnessed many license plates from Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Texas, Utah and Wyoming — as well as several from as far away as Florida, Maine, Minnesota, South Carolina and Virginia. They can’t get into Canada, so maybe they’re coming here instead.

Nothing seems changed very much from previous Fourth of July weekends
—except for the lack of a parade and the evening fireworks display.

This year, most of us islanders will be hunkering down at home, trying to avoid the crowds of mainlanders and fearful of contacting the coronavirus that some of them inevitably bring with them — along with their bikes, canoes, kayaks and paddleboards.

Hopefully we can survive this tourist onslaught with only a few islander cases of Covid-19 that get tracked down and quickly isolated, before any community spread of the virus begins. We have been lucky so far, and diligent, but is our luck about to run out?

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