Little did I think when I started writing “My Strange Life” that it would portend the strangest chapter of my own life.
There is not one aspect of human existence that has been unaffected by the COVID-19 Pandemic. I’ve seen some disruptive events. The assassination of JFK, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. I served in Vietnam. I’ve watched the Challenger blow up, the World Trade Center towers on fire. Those were inflection points in our nation’s history.But none of those affected the entire world. This Pandemic will reach every human on earth.
One Humanity, One Family
There has been worldwide rise of Nationalism throughout the world. Emphasis has been placed on what separates us rather than our common humanity. The artificial divisions are based on national origin, race, religion, gender, social status and wealth. The Coronavirus doesn’t care about these distinctions. It has the sole mission of replicating in human lung tissue. Coronavirus is the great equalizer. We are in this together, the phrase “America First” is meaningless.
Health Care
The United States has a mixture of government-run and private health insurance. The majority of Americans get their health insurance from their employer. The Pandemic has shut down large swaths of businesses. This is not good news for the newly unemployed. It is in the best interests profit-wise for a private health care system to not have excess resources and personnel. I believe it is finally time to reboot this and join the other nations that have universal coverage.
Homeland Security
The Coronavirus is .12 microns in size. It has no problem getting through a fence. We spend a fortune on weapon systems. We have stockpiles of cruise missiles but a shortage of ventilators. What are our priorities?
Science Matters
In the classic 1951 The Day the Earth Stood Still, the alien humanoid Klaatu sought out scientists, not politicians with a message for the entire human race. I was heartened to hear of the cooperation of scientist throughout the world working on a means to defeat this disease. The heroes of this struggle will be health care workers and scientists.
The Internet
For those who have the internet life goes on. They can work, go to school, be entertained and keep in touch with friends and families. Medical researcher all over the globe can collaborate on a cure. Heat maps of outbreaks can be inferred from Google searches. It is a wonderful resource that should be available to all.
Leadership
The State Governors have been taking the lead coordinating the response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Most have implemented “Stay at Home” policies. Captain Brett Crozier made a decision to protect the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. That cost him his command.
The White House has largely been absent from any leadership role with rambling news conferences. You may disagree but I find solace in listening to the doctors and Governors.
Great post. It should be published in a forum that reaches a much wider audience.
Thanks, I think changes are already profound. The idea of a guaranteed income. Universal health coverage. The importance of science. Remember how Reagan made the mocking comment about “I’m from the government, I’m here to help” being the most frightening words ever spoken? Right now I wonder how many people long for a competent response. Maybe we’ll get one next year.
Trump has been a clown over the past few years, but rarely did his buffoonery directly affect me, my wife and my family. In a time of true crisis, he has been a colassal failure and still looks to enrich himself and his pathetic son in law and other family members and his business cronnies. He will go down in history for his failure to act immediately and he has the blood on his hands of every person that dies. It’s not his fault that Corona virus came here, but it is his fault for not heeding the warnings in January and acting. He is a complete ignoramus and a boob!