by Robert M. Traxler
Unfortunately, COVID-19 will not go away anytime soon, even with a vaccine. The H1N1 flu or Swine Flu has been with us for 11 years, even with a vaccine (included in the annual flu shot).
H1N1 killed some 60,000,000 worldwide and is still killing, with more than 250,000 cases diagnosed last year in the United States alone. That is without a dedicated testing program like we have for COVID-19.
Like it or not, and I do not like it, we will need to live with COVID-19 as we have with H1N1. Bravo to the school boards who have the courage to mask up and open up. To do nothing is easy, to lead is difficult. During an Army course on physical security and crime prevention, the instructor made the point that he could guarantee a 100% secure crime free facility; all that needed to be done is to fence off the facility, lock and guard all doors, no one in or out. No crime, also no way the facility could accomplish its mission; his point was that we must accept some loss, and the trick is to balance mission accomplishment with security.
To say we need to assume some risk in life is now not politically correct; to say we need to mask up and open up is a dangerous statement. Folks will call you a racist, sexist, homophobe, who is a hater and wants to see children die in the street. Our friends on the left, especially the 10% who are radically left, will use the tired old basic issue of hateful names to include fascist, Nazi (German Socialist Worker’s Party) and a basketful of deplorables to shame us into following their path.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 has become a political issue, with common sense being the first casualty of this war. Both sides are dug in, with overhead cover and not willing to retreat or even maneuver. The anti-mask up folks will tell us that the CDC and Surgeon General said not to mask up; the pro-mask up folks will say the CDC and Surgeon General said we must mask up, and both are true.
Quite frankly, why we cannot come to the common-sense agreement and mask up and open up and continue with life is puzzling. COVID-19 is, as is everything else, caught up in election year politics.
Michigan, led by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, will not unlock the economy until after the election. If Vice President Joe Biden becomes President Biden, 30 to 60 days after his election a breakthrough will occur and the economy will open again. The pent- up demand for consumer goods will fuel a boom in the economy, the stock market will shoot up and the angels will sing.
The media will call it the Biden market or the Biden recovery and he will be called a genius, even a deity. We could have stopped the bleeding in the economy five months ago before it destroyed families and businesses, but again election year politics rule. The media would prefer to see the people suffer, even children, just to see President Trump voted out of office.
COVID-19 will not magically go away; it took us decades to get infectious diseases like measles, polio and mumps that sadly killed millions of children, under control, but they are not eradicated even after generations of effort and vaccines. COVID-19, like H1N1, will be with us for decades even with a vaccine.
Time to mask up and open up; time to see the right sign on to masking up along with social distancing, and the left sign on to opening schools and the economy. It is time for us to as President Lincoln said to: “understand the vastness of the nation” and look to local solutions. Dorr, Wayland, Hopkins, Martin and Moline are not New York City or even Detroit, Allegan County is not Wayne County. Let’s mask up and open up.
174,000 dead all killed by Trump, you and the angry cheeto want to kill more people of color. If the clown in chief was not running things coronavirus would never have been made.
And there we have it folks: the dumbest thing you will read all day.
I don’t believe Trump is responsible for all 174,000 American deaths from Covid. But his failure of leadership certainly made things much worse, with many more deaths than need have been. Other countries have responded far more effectively, often with national leadership, and not reliance on “poof, it goes away like magic”, or internal use of cleaning products, or hydroxychloroquine, or oleander extract from a campaign donor with a financial interest in the oleander extract company.
Mr. Basura,
I read a few papers on how plane old soap and water even cold water and soap destroys a virus, it is amazing how effective it is. I put it in a column on preventing the virus weeks before the Presidents comments, If we could find a way to use the same process internally it would be a miracle drug I think that is what President meant. Also lets not forget the left chided his travel ban on China as unnecessary and xenophobic for weeks after he ordered it.
Thanks for the comment.
Mr. Jones,
Sir,
wildcat 148 said it best, I agree with wildcat’s comment.
Army Bob, Please keep up the fight. We more than need it.
Ignorance, or more accurately, stupidity, is on display by Mr Jones, whoever he is. Or is this someone else saying they are Mr. Jones?
Said a commenter who also hides his true identity.
And you know why!
If you feel ill, you can always consult with your health care plan’s economist. Peter Navarro PhD seems to have The President’s ear. So does Mike Lindell, aka My Pillow, who got an audience with President Trump and got the President to say the FDA should fast track his oleander-based “natural” treatment for COVID-19. The fact Mr. Pillow is also an investor in the company promoting the oleander-based product is just probably coincidental.
Of course, this is the same President who was promoting hydroxychloroquine that the FDA tested and removed from approved drugs to treat COVID-19 patients. Seems it doesn’t do any good for your heart, so you might just die from cardiac arrest.
If we have had a president who would have allowed the FDA to require masks as some, including the author of this opinion piece did early on, we would had 1000s of travelers wearing masks, as many airlines require now (at least four months too late). We would have had 1000s of employees and travelers in all FAA airports needing FAA approval wearing masks.
Instead we had a president who opted to his reliable playbook of “states’ rights” (when its politically beneficial. Common sense governors in Florida, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Arizona followed the lead from the White House and their refusal to see what happened in NY, CA, MI, IL, OH bit them in the backside.
Here in this area I went to a sporting goods store and their sign read (Paraphrasing) :
“The Governor is requiring everyone who enters to wear a mask. If you can’t wear a mask due to a medical condition, understand we cannot require you to give us any document stating your medical condition.” I would call that requiring a mask with a wink and a nod. Not being serious about COVID-19.
I’m waiting for numbers from MI, especially in the counties that are going with face to face teaching beginning in the next two weeks, 10 to 14 days later see if there is a spike like we saw on the long 4th of July Holiday that effectively was July 2-5. How many students follow mask and distance rules, and if not, how many will spread the virus to older relatives? It happened in South Korea and can happen here.
Well….well…. I did not think we had folks with thoughts as Jones has in our community. But in todays society I should have known better.
We can only pray that our Nation has a new birth of wisdom. I recall a verse from the Bible stating the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.
Amen brother, Amen!
Chandler,
Well said, thanks.
Come on folks give Mr Jones the benefit of proclaiming his thoughts and due to his out rage forgot to add that the President may have mishandled the virus…..and possibly the tariffs and concessions against China may have fueled the escaping of the virus…..
If you use trigger words you should give some sort of reason for using them ..