Darkness in America

With the release of the new Covid-19 projections for the number of cases and the number of deaths from the CDC, we are faced with the realization that what many had hoped was a return to ‘normal’ is not going to happen.  We are now living the new normal.  What is so inconceivable is that so many in our country cannot understand the inverse relationship between reduced reliance on social distancing and the increased spread of the corona virus.  This pandemic is not fake news!  The science is clear, and yet all those who scream for ‘freedom’ in fomented demonstrations simply don’t get it.

If there were even the most minimal coherent leadership in America, we might stand a chance of reducing the effects of this pandemic.  But the people in charge have rejected the science of this public health emergency.  Yesterday we learned that the Trump administration has muzzled Anthony Fauci and will not permit him to testify before the House sub-committee investigating the corona virus outbreak and response.  Why not?  It seems that the President and his administration reject scientific facts and reject transparency.

Hey Dr. Fauci!  This is America!  You have your own voice, don’t you??  Get off your ass and tell us what happened and testify.  Don’t be cowed by people who reject you as a scientific authority!  We must understand where we went wrong so we can be prepared for the next similar threat.  In the words of Donald Trump, “What do you (and we) have to lose?”  Certainly it wouldn’t be your credibility!

Our immediate future is completely reliant on each of us assessing what is best for us individually.  We cannot rely on our government mobilizing to combat this threat.  We each must evaluate our own character values and do what is right.  For me, that means remaining as tightly insulated from others as possible.  There is no one to protect me and my family from the darkness that surrounds us.

I heard a quote from former Governor Chris Christie this morning that gave me chills.  His view is that opening up the country is just so important because we can’t sacrifice our ‘American way of life’.  Oh well, if that means that we should accept the deaths of 3000 people a week because it is important to go to the park or the beach, or eat out at a restaurant, or go to the gym, or buy clothes at the mall, I guess that is ok with him.  That kind of quote is symptomatic of Republican thought that espouses the view that the economy is more important than life.  That is why I called the Republican party the ‘party of death’ in my blogpost a few weeks ago.

What is so hard to integrate into my concept of reality is that a huge number of my fellow citizens either are too ignorant to see the relationship between an ‘opening up’ of America and the prospect of increasing sickness and death all around them, or they simply don’t care.  I guess it will only become real to them about a month from now when scientific projections that they have ignored appear to come true.  And even then, they will reject the clear scientific truth as well as the fact that they might have been wrong.  After all, Donald Trump said it wouldn’t happen, so maybe it really hasn’t happened.  Undoubtedly he will call it fake news.

Our economy will not get better.  In fact, it will get worse.  As the sickness rises again in about three weeks, no one will want to go anywhere.  Stores will have no customers.  Fear again will stalk the land as our health systems get crushed with desperately sick people.   More small businesses will fail and more unemployed will tax the state systems for unemployment insurance.  We are entering a period of prolonged economic suffering and social upheaval.  The lines of cars stretched out to receive food at the local food banks will echo the bread lines of the 1930s.

There is no federal plan for how to deal with any of this.  The Trump plan is to simply ignore it and give up.  “Let the states figure it out for themselves!”, says our President.  “But, haven't we done a magnificent job of recognizing our own shortcomings and persuading all of you citizens that it isn’t my fault?”, he says.  “Don’t worry, it will eventually go away.  We will only lose 250,000 people, which isn’t so bad, is it?  They were all old or infirm anyway….and besides, we don’t want to sacrifice our American way of life!”

                                                       There is darkness in America.