BOISE, Idaho — Editor's note: This story originally aired on Dec. 3, 2001.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Idahoans have had to completely change the way they live their everyday lives. From wearing masks to staying six feet apart from others in public, there have been numerous changes implemented as precautionary measures.
Some Idahoans, however, have equated those measures to "living in fear".
The idea of living in fear has posed the question many of us have asked ourselves when it comes to how we handle our daily lives during a pandemic: if we change the way we do things and take precautions, is that living in fear?
This was a topic of conversation taking place in Boise 19 years ago today, on Dec. 3, 2001.
About three months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the entire country was on high alert, even Idahoans who lived on the opposite end of New York City. It was at that time then-Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne decided to close the streets around the Idaho State Capitol Building as a precautionary measure.
No harm or threat of harm came to the Capitol building, but that moment shared very similar sentiments with the current COVID-19 pandemic, 19 years after the horrific events on 9/11.
In today's 208 Redial, we revisit these sentiments. 19 years ago, after a national tragedy, Idahoans were still accusing their neighbors, lawmakers, and other citizens of "living in fear."
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