Most people I know would rather read positive and inspiring news than negative and disturbing articles. That’s part of the reason why I often write about people who have created something new that benefits others or improves society and culture.

My most recent column, ”Understanding the opposite view” (July 7), was about Darryl Davis, a Black man who has spent years reaching out to KKK members in an effort to gain an understanding of one another’s views and values, ultimately resulting in over 200 people leaving the white supremacist movement.

I’ve written about an entrepreneur who makes bricks out of trash to build homes, the feminist lyrics of the talented singer Pink, and the remarkable life of the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I’ve written about the challenges medical professionals have faced during the pandemic with long work hours and insufficient protective medical equipment. In the face of extremely difficult circumstances, they’re working as hard as ever to keep people alive and healthy.

It’s positive news that by all measures, COVID-19 vaccinations have been shown to be effective. Yet, in many parts of the country, COVID cases are increasing. According to the CDC, most of this increase can be attributed to the new Delta variant and the high percentage of individuals who remain unvaccinated. Just slightly more than half of Coloradoans are fully vaccinated, yet in El Paso County, that drops to around 40%.

Despite the fact that more than 7,000 Colorado residents — including nearly 900 El Paso County residents — have died from COVID-19, per New York Times data, many people still haven’t been vaccinated. Given the efficacy of the vaccines, this low rate of vaccination is especially shocking. The coronavirus remains highly contagious and it’s been shown time and time again that wearing masks, social distancing and gettimg vaccinations help to prevent its spread.

It’s not as if the pandemic is behind us. Right on the heels of the Delta variant is the Lambda variant which has been identified in 29 countries to date. Many hospitals remain understaffed and over capacity due to COVID cases. Physicians are put in the unfortunate position of deciding which COVID patients have the best odds of survival in order to distribute ventilators when such life-saving equipment remains scarce.

Pandemics by nature aren’t political; viruses like COVID are apolitical. They don’t have boundaries, and don’t show loyalty, membership or any connection to a political party.

Viruses don’t care if you’re male, female or non-binary, Jewish, Catholic, or atheist, gay, queer or straight. Viruses affect all races and ethnic backgrounds, all ages and stages, in every corner of the planet. It’s fortunate that epidemiologists and other scientists who study viruses base their observations and conclusions on facts, data, and research. They rely on information, details and replicability. Scientists and researchers are trained to separate fact from fiction, truth from folly, and honesty from falsehood.

That’s part of the reason it’s so shocking that in recent weeks, two lawmakers — including one from Colorado — used historical images in a grossly misleading attempt to present them as modern-day occurrences. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene compared the outreach to provide vaccinations to people in their homes to Nazi-era “brown shirts,” tweeting, “People have a choice, they don’t need your medical brown shirts showing up at their door ordering vaccinations. You can’t force people to be part of the human experiment.” Greene erroneously used the term “brown shirts,” which historically refers to the paramilitary group that helped enable Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in the 1930s and ‘40s. Her statement mocks and distorts the medical experiments carried out by the Nazi regime during the Holocaust which resulted in the torture and murder of Jews and other prisoners in concentration camps. Previously, Greene stated that the Las Vegas and Parkland shootings were staged and that a space laser controlled by Jewish financiers started a wildfire in 2018 in California. Fact? Fiction?

Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert recently shocked the Jewish community by tweeting that President Joe Biden “has deployed his Needle Nazis” to Colorado’s Mesa County. By saying so, Boebert reveals a twisted, ignorant and disturbing view of history as well as that of current events. These two lawmakers are unable to separate fact from fiction, truth from folly, and honesty from falsehood. They lack any substantive knowledge of history and operate from an irrational perspective. Although Greene recently visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, I would be surprised if she has personally known anyone with a tattooed number on their arm from a concentration camp, or had relatives killed during the Holocaust, as my extended family has.

That brings me back to my original point. I prefer fact over fiction, accuracy over exaggeration, science over falsehoods, and knowledge over ignorance. It’s not too much to expect from our elected officials, truth be told.

Julie Richman is a freelance writer, project manager and consultant. She and her family have lived on Colorado Springs’ northeast side for 23 years. Contact Julie with comments or ideas for her column at woodmennotes@pikespeaknewspapers.com.