One of the concerns I have is that we will see the writing on the wall and be powerless to do anything about it.

We’ll hear the warnings about a second wave compounded by the regular flu season, but we will never completely emerge from the first wave because people decided to take matters into their own hands. They believed the lunatic fringe who said this was all a conspiracy, that masks only inhibit our beautiful Creator-endowed breathing apparatus (?!). They wouldn’t wear masks in part because the President and VP carried on as if there was no pandemic, or as if masks were a mark on their manhood, a contrived red/blue issue, somehow a signal of defeat, of weakness, or something only the Libtards would do.

People would be stubborn, ignorant, and stupid, exhibiting a gullibility that defied logic.

We’ll hear the warnings of the legitimate prophets-the scientists and epidemiologists- who say the second wave could be worse than the first. But we won’t be able to prepare for it because supplies of PPE and energy in general were depleted by the extended battle in Round 1.

What is this if not an unparalleled and staggering failure of leadership? And more evidence of a nation that has lost its way.

None of us had a say in being here.

Every now and then I think about that. Does it matter, though? I suppose one could use this as an excuse for being reckless and self-involved. A cop-out, as in, “I had zero say in being here, so no one is going to tell me how to live my life!”

Is there some cosmic reason for each life? Is each adorned with intrinsic meaning and value and purpose? Or do we have to manufacture those things for ourselves? Sometimes I feel like we can live our lives any way we want, and to hell with status quo and trying to impress.

But then I think about the movie I watched recently- Selma– and all my selfishness and me-first thinking seems so small-minded. Not everyone gets thrust into an MLK role. Since we’re here, though, we should be looking out for one another.

But what if we get to the point where everything is healed? What then? What would be left to do? Would life be interesting? Or would we just get bored, looking for reasons to get angry, looking for scapegoats, hoping for something or someone to gripe about? Could we handle the peace and tranquility?

It seems there will always be good and bad. Healing and wholeness will never be total in this life. There will always be struggle. So, good news?

Trump’s first mistake was carrying on as if he had won bigly.

Humility is not his strong suit, though, so the stage was set for four years of smoke and mirrors and a Presidency from hell.

The Trump campaign is holding a rally tonight in Tulsa, OK.

In the middle of a pandemic, when cases in Oklahoma are on the rise.

Who is Donald Trump? Who are his supporters, and how can they be so rabidly loyal to a guy who couldn’t care less about them?

From all appearances, here is someone who is willing to put over 19,000 people at risk just so he can get an ego boost. Is that what we’re looking at here? Is it really as simple as that?

Donald Trump needs an applause and adoration fix, coronavirus be damned?

As the days pass and Summer arrives, it is becoming clearer that we are going to need to muster more patience than we’ve ever been asked to muster. The virus caseload may be decreasing in some places, but the virus itself really hasn’t gone anywhere. It’s still around, ready to take advantage of anyone who drifts too close to someone who just returned from Tulsa or Florida or the county next door.

There is much about this that makes perfect sense and no sense at the same time. We know the virus thrives when people are in close proximity to one another and making no effort to take precautions. We know some people are stubborn or maybe just stupid. They know that the virus thrives in close quarters, but don’t care. It’s almost like they’re daring it to infect them.

Such hubris. Such ignorance. And such predictable outcomes. Not everyone contracts the virus, of course. But enough do, so the spread continues.

It has become apparent that what most likely will happen, for the remainder of the year and until an effective vaccine is widely available, is that people will decide to live life with a higher tolerance for risk. Another quarantine or stay-at-home order will be a much tougher sell for governors and mayors, so people are just going to carry on hoping that they and those they love don’t get sick, all the while reconciled to the possibility that that might indeed happen. This is all remarkable, infuriating, and frightening at the same time.

And what about this scenario: because Donald needs to look like a hero in time for the election, the Trump administration grasps at one last straw, removes the red tape and rushes through what we eventually learn (surprise, surprise) is an unproven vaccine.

Anyway, what is flu season going to look like?

So, where are we headed in the fall? I very much want to believe that we will have turned a corner on covid by then. I want to believe that cities and towns and municipalities across the country will use whatever reprieve they have now to rest, to replenish, and recharge. Sorry, the alliterative flow just happens sometimes.

Anyway, I want to believe all that. But of course I don’t, really. The number of cases is not dropping. It’s plateauing. The pressure is being sustained. There is a let-up in spots, but in many others the case numbers are not leveling off or going away. They’re rising again.

And this isn’t the second wave. This is the result of people having had enough of the restrictions and saying to hell with mandates and guidelines. This is people making decisions not only for themselves but for those around them. This is what it looks like to throw discipline under the bus, because…America! Because the wheels of commerce need to keep turning, because the whole system is based on production and work and making money. Because there is no safety net, there is no us. And apparently, many suffer from ADD.

But there is Fox News pushing the alternate universe narrative that the liberal Dems are to blame for everything. And there are many Americans who bow to nothing or no one, not even a soulless, undiscriminating virus that has infected most of the world, and cares not one bit about red-blooded, blindly patriotic and stubborn numskulls.

I hope we can avoid a second wave, because it could make the first one look like child’s play, something we won’t be able to handle at all.

I’m such a ray of sunshine.

If state leaders are suffering from “restriction fatigue,” then for Pete’s sake ramp up the testing and contact tracing so you can know where the hot spots are and can limit movement and interaction in a more focused way. We’ve been flying blind long enough! It seems people have long known what needs to be done but are just not doing it in a committed way.

And health care workers are still needing to re-use PPE? Are you kidding me?

Also, Donald Trump needs to be removed from the communication loop. He offers nothing. Nothing whatsoever.

Covid-19 cases are on the rise in a number of states. Shouldn’t be a surprise. Between necessity and stupidity, it was inevitable. Between needing to go to work and protesting, and just not wanting to be told what to do and not do, it was bound to happen.

So we’re going to deal with a rate of infection that never really subsides. The burden on health care providers and facilities will continue largely unabated, and by the fall we’re gonna be in big trouble, perhaps worse than the first wave.

What a piece of shit.

Thanks, Donald. Thanks for knowing this was coming and burying your head in the sand. Did you really believe this was just gonna go away? Washing your hands of it won’t absolve you.

Twenty-twenty might be remembered as the lost year. And a year of awakenings.

The other night, Trevor Noah offered a thoughtful assessment of the current post-George Floyd moment. But I’m not convinced the looting protesters are approaching things with the same level of introspection. I have trouble believing that they’re thinking in terms of a violated social contract, as they break windows and help themselves at the local Target.

From all appearances, it looks more like, “Hey! Free stuff! And no cops anywhere in sight!”

There’s something insincere about the disgust and indignity voiced by many who are critiquing the actions and behavior of the police.

This is not a defense, by any means, of the actions of those who took George Floyd’s life. And don’t get me started on the disaster that is Donald Trump and his wildly inept leadership since day one. This is more a reaction to what’s happened since Floyd’s death, especially in the media, in the late night monologues, and in general conversation.

There seems to be a prominent voice proclaiming that the police have over-reacted to the protests. Brought a nuclear bomb to a fist fight. The inference seems to be that these numerous descents into chaos and violence we’ve seen on TV have happened in no small part because the police are instigators, or at least exhibiting short fuses, and showing up in force with more gear than the protesters.

It just seems too easy to take pot shots from the sidelines while law enforcement personnel are the ones encountering these dangerous situations. Of course they’re going to come prepared. Their lives are on the line on a daily basis. Why would they enter a fray with one hand tied behind their back? Their first thought may not be, “How do we exhibit nuanced, kinder and gentler, law enforcement here?”

What’s often rattling around in my brain is the thought that we hold law enforcement personnel to an unrealistic standard of bravery and restraint. None of them are invincible superheroes with special powers. They’re trained to not take shit from anyone, yet are also expected to be diplomatic and patient, to make split-second, situational fight-or-flight decisions. Seems like a lot to expect from anyone in the heat of a volatile moment.

The unfortunate part, or one of them, is that peaceful protesters don’t get special dispensation. They don’t wear passes or possess some magic immunity that keeps them from being lumped together with those who apparently show up to incite violence and in general take a more “proactive” stance against injustice. Law enforcement appears not to want to take the time to distinguish between the two groups. Maybe they should.