How Safe Is Safe Enough?

I was chatting with a friend in Tennessee the other day, and he told me that he had taken his family out to dinner for the first time in a long time. He said they did not wear masks, of course, because they were eating. He added that some of the wait staff did not wear them, and some of the others who did, did not have them in place.
How did that make him feel? I asked. He indicated that he was indifferent. Before I can process his answer, I must allow for the fact the Tennessee is not New Jersey, with our state’s high incidence of infection. This brings me to my theme: How much safety is a prudent amount? We can worry about getting sick, but what I’m hearing more and more is that people are becoming increasingly pent up, due to their being stuck in their homes, and, it seems they are evermore willing to increase their tolerance for risk.
Back to my friend, is it safe to take his family out to dinner? Who should define that? My friend said that they ate out of doors. Question: would a larger number of people feel safer eating out of doors than within the confined space of a restaurant? Clearly, if a restauranteur were able to spread his tables out into the open, he’d be able to better social distance, as well as offer fresh-air dining to those who might stay away if that option weren’t offered.
I’m reading in the international media that various countries and regions within countries are relaxing their rules on this issue. What about us? Are our regulators willing to show flexibility regarding enforcement of regulations written for a very different time, when people did not have to stand back from one another? Not that those guidelines did not have purposes for being in place, and arguably those  reasons still hold  validity; but, weighed in the balance of today’s circumstances, should they be reviewed… and relaxed or  suspended?
The point is, we humans are creatures of habit, and find it very difficult to push back from a given situation and give it a fresh look, oblivious to the fact that changing circumstances may require fresh eyes.
My wife and I were watching a movie some time back and a group of people were dining over a multi-course meal in a fine French restaurant. At the appropriate time, the server brought the cheese plate to be enjoyed.  Several of the diners declined the cheese and asked for the next course instead. The server declined to bring it until the proper time, explaining, he has to serve the cheese first, and only when it has been removed, could he bring the nuts. The diners went on to explain, “But the others don’t want nuts, and we don’t want cheese, so please bring them both now.” The server apologized profusely, and explained anew, “One must serve the cheese first, and when that course is finished and the cheese plates removed, only then can  I bring the nuts. It cannot be done.” (Cheese first, then nuts, or visa-versa? I don’t recall. Emily Post was not helpful.)
My argument is, we are becoming an ever-more sophisticated society, and have developed statutes to help things work smoothly. The problem is, when the situation changes that required the rules in the first place, we tend to hold rigidly to the old ways.
One of the necessities and attractions of Cape May County is our plethora of dining options. In order to provide food for the hundreds of thousands of people here in the summer, we require conditions which offer reasonable safety so that diners are willing to continue to dine out. As the summer rapidly approaches, let’s carefully weigh all the factors and make sensible accommodation for them all.
“Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do.” (Philippians 4:5)