Coronavirus Response

OK.  I am really confused.  I think it is because we have a stupid President, or I guess it could be because I am stupid.  No one really thinks they are stupid, so I guess that applies to me and DT, but I do not claim to be a genius, much less a stable one.  I think I am a bright person with issues.

Meanwhile, at least DT has moved from saying this is a Democratic hoax concocted to make him look bad.  Wow.  That preposterous claim clearly stupid as the virus came from China where, as far as I know, Nancy Pelosi is not powerful enough to make thousands ill via biological warfare.

Then he told us it would go away.  In fact, he expected a miracle to make it go away.  Really?  DT is strongly supported by Evangelical Christians and one of the major tenets of those groups is that the Bible is inerrant, is holy, and every word is literally true.  If that is what they believe must it not also be true that God must have created the coronavirus?  Just like he must have created cancer, heart disease, menopause, ED, bad backs, etc.  If God created the virus why would he create a miracle to end his creation?  Or, did God just set things in motion and the virus just happened?  Well, if that is the case then expecting God to intervene is equally crazy.  He has not ended cancer.  He has not cured heart disease.  He is not cured erectile dysfunction.  So, it seems we really cannot turn to God for help on this issue.

I know there are rich evangelical Christians who have banished the virus in the name of God and declared that the virus is illegal.  I do not get that at all.  Who made the virus?  Who at the least is allowing the virus to spread?  Why, that would be God.  It seems to me we should declare evangelical millionaires illegal.

Back to the virus.  Those people who have spent their adult lives studying viruses, immunology, pandemics, etc. know what is going on.  They now know the symptoms and they are working on a vaccine.  But DT won’t listen to them.  He has a hunch that the virus will disappear when it gets hot and that we will have a vaccine in 3-4 months, and that his shoot-from-the-hip hunch is better information than a host of scientists who in fact really know what is going on.  Only a moron would take such a position, especially in the face of a world-wide biological challenge.  Nope.  Old DT thinks his hunch means more than the studied and expert opinion of scientists.  If that does not scare the crap out of you I do not know what will.  To make matters worse, he has asked his son-in-law Jared to get to the bottom of all this.  Jared?  Jared’s only claim to fame is to marry Ivanka and in so doing he has become a part of the nepotistic inbreeding of adamant Trump supporters the President keeps around him.  This is so stupid it is going to get people killed.  However, I must admit it is likely a step up intellectually from Pence.

And then we hear Trump’s plan.  America is tough, America is great, and this silly virus is not going to slow us down at all.  Nero fiddled while Rome burned.  Trump postulates while people die and the market crashes and every thinking organization on the planet seeks ways to contain the virus and treat the virus.  Trump’s solution is to pick some countries on the planet and not allow people, even American citizens, to come here just in case they have or are carrying the virus.  Right.  Would someone please tell our stable genius that the virus is world-wide?  That is what pandemic means.  One nation cannot take steps to solve this problem.  It will take global collaboration on a grand scale.  Sadly, our current President is unable to think globally much less collaboratively.  For Trump, his thoughts and hunches mean more than logic, more than science, more than public safety.

So, what would I do?  First, if the President asked me to take charge I would decline because I lack the knowledge and expertise to be in charge.  I think thinking people would encourage the appointment of someone who knows something and is not impressed by ill-founded hunches.  But if forced to develop a plan I would start with a three-pronged approach. 

The first approach would be to make all our first responders safe from contracting the virus.  Police, fire, ambulance drivers, hospitals and doctors, and nurses must be safe.  Who are we going to call if everyone gets sick?

Second, I would make safe as best we could all those folks who are most likely to die from exposure to the virus.  School kids, the elderly, those already with health challenges, etc.

And third, a full-fledged funding from whatever deep pockets remain in DC to the scientists to develop a vaccine.  If each billionaire in America contributed a billion dollars toward finding a cure we would find a cure and they would all still be billionaires.  And this cannot be just an American approach.  We need our best brains working with the best brains from around the world to stop this thing and for now, I do not care if those brains are in China, Russia, England or a "shit hole country.".  We are much more likely to survive with that kind of collaboration than blocking Italian tourists from coming to the US.

Further, I would encourage our citizens to show thoughtful care and restraint.  Anywhere from self-quarantines for those in high risk areas to avoiding large public gatherings.  Most Americans and American organizations are already doing that.  Those organizations and individuals deserve support and understanding rather than waiting for Jared to make some kind of pronouncement.

And finally, we should take care of each other as best we can in whatever ways we can.  We should morn those who die from this virus, not parade survivors and promote the notion that this is no big deal.  This is a big deal.  I fear our President will not understand that this is serious and not just a PR opportunity until someone he knows and loves gets sick and dies.  By then it will be too late.