Now six weeks (+/-) into the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States of America, we as its citizens are facing a truly terrifying dilemma. How to reopen our country, fuel the economy and not risk unnecessary lives in the process. Regardless of which side of this argument you fall on, the one thing we can all agree upon is the current situation is untenable.
America cannot continue to work without the engine of economics and business driving our progress. Small business and tradesmen feed larger businesses, corporations, investments and growth. Farmers feed people, people work to produce income which in turn feeds farmers, and so on. It’s a tenuous chain that cannot bear the tension of inactivity for a prolonged period.
Our government is over extended by trillions of dollars, people have been without adequate means of supporting themselves for weeks and the unemployment rate is beyond frightening. No one person, President or politician is to blame. This is a disease driven abyss, and we are hurtling toward the drop.
The problem with delaying the re-boot (if you will) is that there’s no guarantee that a vaccine will be devised in a time frame that meets the needs of the populace. Ask yourself, how long can you realistically continue to survive, food, shelter, clothing — without income? How long do you think the politicians, or the media will go without making sure they get theirs? Folks, the ones who are at risk here are, We the People. Yes, lives are in danger. They’re in danger right now. You can stay in quarantine indefinitely and still die of starvation. The politico’s and CEO’s and MSM will wring their hands and point their fingers, but it won’t change the fact that you are no longer drawing breath.
I am an advocate of continued social distancing. History (my specialty) shows that only through enforced and prolonged social distancing has any earlier Pandemic been abated. Sure, we have modern medicine. But is it going to be fast enough, exact enough to dispel the ravages of this virus before America is in the throes of another Depression?
Most of us are too young to remember the Great Depression. Sure we may have read about it in some textbook, heard about it second or third hand from our parents or grandparents, but the sheer enormity of what took place and the toll it took on the American people isn’t something any of us should underestimate. It took World War II to end that mess, and we don’t want that either.
My suggestion is this: America goes back to work, slowly, cautiously and with great care and wisdom. Don’t go to the bar after your shift, don’t go clubbing on the weekends, or head to the beach for the day. Wear your masks and carry your hand sanitizer. Call your friends and talk instead of doing a coffee clutch, continue to worship from home for a while longer, and stay aware that you are a part of a system of people who should all be willing to do the same.
Yes, people will die. They will die if we reopen the country, they will die if we don’t, they will die from COVID-19, or hepatitis, or cancer, or heart disease, or diabetes. People will die. Prolonged shelter-in-place orders do nothing to curtail that fact. Whack jobs will shoot unarmed citizens who go for a jog, other crazies will blame the Jews or the Arabs or the Chinese. Even more will become so tired of being confined they will explode one night in their homes and kill their entire families. People will die. It truly is the only thing we are guaranteed in this live is death.
I am among the high risk. I will, most probably, get COVID-19 before finding a vaccine. With my varied medical conditions I may end up being another in the long list of fatalities. I still believe that starting the country back up, intelligently, is the best course of action. Wear the mask, wash and sanitize your hands, keep your distance from others and slowly, with patience, we will be back to bar-b-ques and beach parties soon.