Coronavirus rates are rising in 21 states. I think this was entirely predictable given the early reopening of many states, and the refusal of so many people to continue to practice safe-distancing.
Unfortunately, Washington has moved on to other topics.
The coronavirus may not be done with the United States, but the nation’s capital seems to be done with the coronavirus. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers in both parties were examining police brutality. The Senate health committee was contending with getting children back to school. The White House, which halted its daily virus briefings more than a month ago, was wrestling with race relations.
As the pandemic’s grim numbers continue to climb, President Trump and lawmakers in both parties are exhibiting their usual short attention span, alarming public health experts who worry that a second wave of infections could deliver a punch more brutal than the first while the nation’s political leaders are looking the other way.
Shorter version: Congress is so afraid of the economic fallout from stay at home orders and loss of jobs, it's prepared to let the disease spread rather than undergo another shutdown.
Every day I see more and more people no longer wearing masks in public places.
Health officials are asking everyone who participated in the protests to get tested. I doubt most of them will. The numbers suggest that they aren't the ones in danger of dying.
I think the message, as set by Donald Trump, is clear: those over the age of 60 need to be prepared to be collateral damage in the nation's coronavirus response. The country will not shut down a second time to protect them.
A few weeks ago I heard Donald Trump say the country needed to reopen -- teachers under 70 should return to work. He mentioned other occupations and said those under 70 should return to work.
What about those over 60 and 70? They can stay home, in isolation, or assume the risk of dying from contracting covid-19. Freezing out the elderly is just a price society must be prepared to pay because it pales in comparison to the greater good of economic benefits for everyone else.
Pondering this today, I couldn't help but think of the novel Animal Farm. Or the campy movie from 1968, "Wild in the Streets", where teenage heart throb Max Frost (Christopher Jones) ran for President and won on a campaign platform of lowering the voting age to 14. Old people would be sent to a farm and fed LSD. Also in the movie: Shelley Winter and Hal Holbrooke, and a very young looking Richard Pryor. The movie is free on You Tube here, but really, this song is the best part.
