Now that the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be waning in the more-developed nations, I have some thoughts on what we have learned or should be learning about this type of event.
There were lots of fits and starts along the way as the national and state governments imposed measures to try to blunt the spread of the virus. These measures were at times well-founded and in other instances it appeared some leaders were shooting from the hip.
My thoughts:
In terms of our economy, which is one of the strongest in the world, we discovered it is not bulletproof. Actually, no economy can just shut down for a number of weeks or have partial shutdowns for months without far-reaching consequences. How many “Help Wanted” signs have you seen today?
We were medically unprepared in terms of facilities that could isolate the worst cases and in the case of protective clothing for health care workers. Is anyone working on a fix?
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We discovered the outdoors again as people flocked to lakes, rivers, parks and any other place where they could find some peace and not be exposed to others.
In-time logistics is a great concept when the supply chain is running smoothly from end to end. But break one link in the chain from mining natural resources, to manufacturing and production, to transportation of materials, food and finished products, and so on and recovery will take longer than anyone anticipated.
Many people view religious worship as an integral part of their lives - and government restrictions that try to overly restrict that are unconstitutional.
Total reliance on science to provide all the answers is difficult when the scientists themselves do not agree. And when scientists try to fit into the political arena, it only adds to the confusion. There are a lot of vaccinated folks holding their breath wondering if there will be long-term effects from these rapidly developed and fielded vaccines.
To go further, adding major racial discontent to the social situation in many cities ignited riots and looting that were sometimes reported as peaceful protests. How many of us would choose to relocate to Minneapolis, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; or Seattle, Washington?
Along with the change in administration we are now being inundated with things like the Woke Movement, Cancel Culture, ANTIFA, BLM, Critical Race Theory and movements to defund police and law enforcement.
I personally think WOKE is a joke. Cancel Culture sounds more like a bad song written and performed by Boy George. ANTIFA is anything but anti-fascist; they want to impose an anarchist fascism on our country. BLM, or Black Lives Matter, is an organization that is now more concerned with power and money than improving the lives of Black people. Even some truly knowledgeable Blacks have pointed out this fact and criticized the movement for further destroying the Black family.
I haven’t forgotten law enforcement, but that’s going to be a separate column.
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No one I know believes we have solved the racial issues in this country. We have a long, long way to go in many respects. But we need more Martin Luther King Jrs. and fewer Al Sharptons and Jesse Jacksons in the discussions and actions.
We now have an administration that believes that domestic terrorism is the greatest threat to our country. They want you and me to believe that so they can actually pass a series of laws under the title, “For the People Act of 2021.” This act seeks to wrest most of the control of elections from the individual states and places it all under the direction of the federal government.
It should be titled, “Act to Give the Democrat Party Total and Permanent Control of the United States.” At this point, there appear to be two courageous Democrat senators who are opposed to this. Hopefully they will not be swayed or coopted away from their position.
Pray for your country; I am!
That’s how I see it.
