9 months into the Chinese Flu and our first option is to shutdown. In the beginning, it was our only option. We knew nothing about this virus. The federal and state governments had failed, for decades, to prepare with any form of national stockpile of PPE and ventilators. They were caught with their pants down, in the middle of impeachment proceedings, and the ‘safest’ thing to do was lock it down so we could mobilize.
And mobilize we did. Field Hospitals sprung up in major cities and in the ports around them. Industries shifted to production of sanitizers and masks, others sat at home to stay safe from an unknown virus that was being broadcast on every form of media with scary pictures of a microscopic bug. The fear of killing our parents and grandparents was cemented into our head.
Now where are we? We’ve had nine months to prepare, we weren’t expecting a vaccine for another six. We have all the data, we know who it kills, we know who spreads it, we know the survival rate, we know we don’t have to leave our groceries outside for three days, we know kids aren’t giving it to their grandparents, we know quarantining patients in nursing homes is a bad idea, we have the PPE, we have had time to produce the ventilators, and our only solution is to lock it down?
How dare they? We don’t want to overwhelm our hospitals? What about the TCF center in Detroit? The floating hospitals in New York and California? What about a plan that targets protecting people who need protection? What about any alternative other than the status quo? Next time, a shutdown, which should be the last option, will be the first.
At the current moment, with no clear plan that doesn’t sacrifice our freedoms and livelihood in exchange for a false sense of security against an enemy we know we can defeat, they go back to Washington to squabble over $600 Christmas checks that account for less than 10% of the total of they are charging Americans for the spending package.
In a year where we have had access to only a tiny fraction of the perks our membership in America promises us, these dopes in D.C can’t even agree to give us a 10% rebate. They can’t come up with a plan that might make the other side look good. They can’t solve the problem until the next administration, or the one after that. The government who monopolizes the right to protect and prepare can’t even do that without cranking out a 5000 page bill hours before the due date and then vilifying those who oppose.
The lockdown is not our only option. The “pause” is not helping the citizens. When you asked us to give up 21 days of our lives, you had my vote. At this point though you are asking Americans to give up over 1% of their expected lives. You’re asking grandparents to give up 10% of their remaining lives. You’re asking kids to give up 1/12th of their formative years. High students need to give up 25% of that experience.
All of this over a scary bug with a 99% survival rate that we have the most powerful species in the history of our earth researching, treating, curing, and preventing? How dare they? If we don’t shut them down, they will continue to shut us down. Next time don’t expect them to ask nicely. #Stayhomesavelives 😦
The Journey 