It’s fascinating, in a mind-numbing way, to watch how we’ve treated the pandemic. On the one hand, many are straining and always have been straining toward, pining for a return to pre-Covid ways and behavior. On the other hand, we’re STILL hearing about an uptick in cases, strained ERs and staffs, and the specter of another surge after the Thanksgiving travel and get-togethers.
Fascinating isn’t the right word. Frustrating isn’t a strong enough word. Maddening and infuriating get closer to where I’m at. It’s been a witch’s brew of behaviors and reactions, damned from the start by a POTUS who refused to acknowledge that we had a problem, that Covid-19 was even worth worrying about. We got off on the wrong foot and haven’t been able to recover.
And now a writer for The Atlantic suggests it’s up to politicians—not scientists and health officials—to declare when the pandemic is over. This, in my mind, is the perfect example of what we’ve been dealing with all along. People with contrary views offering advice that sounds and feels… ill-conceived, impatient, and just wrong-headed. Wouldn’t this be like waiting on the opinion of the local CPA to decide if you need heart surgery? Sadly, it seems like the scientific community is kow-towing to the politicians already, anyway. Recovery has never moved fast enough, so it’s been forced the whole way along. Human life and well-being have never really been the drivers here. It’s been all hands on deck to get the wheels of commerce out of the ditch and back on the road.
We end up with the blind leading the blind, and the ones who can really help are left sitting in the dust on the sidelines– ignored, marginalized, and maligned. Imagine that.
Nice going, Donald. Way to set the tone.
3 Cents' 