In order of importance.
I know that most folks want to see Biden undo all of the former guy’s policies, free the kids in cages, end climate change, end homelessness, turn water into wine, find Jimmy Hoffa, and otherwise make good on a slew of campaign promises. Those of you not joining me in sarcasm, you expect him to work a series of miracles in a short time. Guess what, kids? He already is, but first, the prominent and most visible thing he needs to undo is the former guy’s botched job regarding the pandemic.
I know many had issues with pretty much everything he did. Some, apparently, want to drink his toilet water (yeah, I went there). The botched job is quite simply the pandemic response. His and his administration’s response was woefully unprepared and casual. It was selective and lacked any level of cohesion or even empathy. I guess what did we expect for a person more focused on his interests than those of the country. A fact made evident by the fact that he didn’t focus his efforts towards the pandemic, which has caused a shock wave more incredible than last year’s March earthquake.
The wide-reaching evidence of the pandemic is everywhere. The PS5 and New X-box have been dramatically delayed by the lack of processor chips made after factories were closed for the pandemic (priorities first, lol). Lumber has gone up more than 120%, driving housing costs through the rough. We spent nearly six months trying to find toilet paper. Store shelves remain woefully under-stocked, and people are out of work. It has started to get better with the change in the White House, but it is slow.
I have a friend who is a homeless advocate. She continually posts critically about Biden’s inability to solve the homeless crisis or the fact that there are a plethora of children at the border. Initially, she asked a rhetorical question, “Why is Covid getting all the priority?”
I am sorry that he has not magically solved all the problems in the first hundred days. The more sad thing is the fact that this friend has been very publicly critical that Biden has been focusing on the Coronavirus (ya know, because it is not that big a deal, right?) Yeah, I get it, but unfortunately, this problem requires the weight of the government.
Ok, I will be honest (like I have a reason to be dishonest..well). I would dearly love it if we could focus on something other than the ‘vid. I know I am not the only one that has fatigue from all the social distancing and masking. Part of the reason we have maskholes is that they are incapable of participating in the pandemic defense, are misinformed, and choose not to listen to reason, entitled or “special,” and are fatigued. We all want to move forward with other aspects of life, not dwell continuously on this pandemic. I think I would rather talk about hypertension than deal with non-stop issues with the ‘vid.
When I started this blog, I thought I would spend a shit ton (slightly less than a fuck ton) of time talking about a multitude of issues and not hours upon hours talking about a pandemic. Chris and I even made an effort not to say Corona or Covid for a whole podcast; sadly, it didn’t work.
The problem is that instead of avoiding this, we should be bringing the brunt of our efforts to deal with this virus, yes at the expense of other programs and, yes, sacrificing a few individual freedoms. Before you, all groan, remember how many of you were all for every bit of sacrifice after 9/11. Remember all the suspension of personal liberties that occurred (some are still in place)? Remember the foreign nationals we just locked up indefinitely with no trial or charges at Gitmo? The death toll from Covid is 194 times more than on 9/11, and it is still rising. We fought (still fighting) a 20-year war about 9/11. For hell’s sake, we have to take off half of our clothes to fly on a damn plane these days. Yet, you can’t handle a damn mask or being 6 feet away from someone to maintain a little bit of safety because you are tired of sacrificing freedom?
The lack of personal responsibility during this is astounding. I put the pen down on this at one AM, and on cue, this morning news that the Supreme court struck down an emergency order that put a halt in California to in-person religious gatherings. Really? Predictably it was the justices appointed by the former guy. Again we see the ineptness and outright stupidity of the last administration are brought into the light by this. I guess by the supreme court’s ruling, it’s ok for the church to continue in the middle of a damn fire and not evacuate because the firemen tell them to get out. Yes, folks, the building is literally on fire now, and most places I know have gone to virtual church or virtual gatherings.
Justice Kagan explained that California’s law doesn’t single out religious gatherings but treats all at-home gatherings differently than commercial spaces. (From Vox). As I said, the majority was bolstered by the three justices that the former guy nominated. Indeed a sign that we have stepped back on the idea of public health due to the disinformation from the former guy and his bunch.
Yes, these pieces have been pretty brutal on the former guy, but honestly, we are continuing to reap the crap that he started over a year ago. What I want is this pandemic over. I want to go back to boring conversations about hypertension, taking your medication as ordered, and few good old sutures here and there. If you don’t think healthcare workers (especially front-line ones, you know the ones they used to have nightly cheers for in many cities?) are tired of this shit, try to talk to one. We have had a recent chance to catch our breath and do more human things, but many of us are also holding our breath to see when we will have to go hard (oopsie) at it again. Based on every model I have seen, we will see a significant surge and possibly more new variants at the latest this fall.
No, I am not overly dramatic. New variants already started to occur as the virus adapts itself to changes in behavior and treatments. It will soon adapt to survive existing vaccines. Just like most of us, the virus also wants to survive. This adaptation is why we get a flu shot every year (or at least some of us do).
The takeaway from this rant is that we have a lot to do. We need to do more to stop Covid, and I honestly have little faith that we will do the right thing. Yeah, I re-read my early stuff the other day and said, don’t panic; initially, I still say that. I am not panicking; when your problem is down, you don’t help it back up to go on fighting. You take the time to finish it off before you stand on a carrier deck and declare “Mission Accomplished.” Funny to think that moment was 15+ years ago, finally three presidents later looking at the final drawdown of forces in that region (more there in coming days), a whole generation of new health problems are just beginning.
We will still lose people to this every year, and it never truly will be gone. We will reach a point where we should not require draconian measures to keep this at bay, but we need unification to slow or stop the spread. Sorry, this is as gloomy as today is Utah (“wintery mix” as the national weather service calls it), but here we are.
Be the kind of person your mom and your dog hope you are.