Exemplified by the partisan kerfuffle between Trump and Democrats is an unbecoming war of the worlds. Of course, there is mankind’s war against an invisible world of deadly microbes, which should invite an apolitical and united front. Then, there is the political war in which Democrats accuse the President and Republican governors of medical malpractice. Finally, the world of intellectual-yet-idiotic pundits is at war with make-believe enemies of science and data.
Show me a politician today – outside of Georgia and Sweden – willing to trust the governed to self-regulate. Yet, I remember when kids got measles, mumps, scarlet fever, and chicken pox – back when the 68-69 Hong Kong Flu pandemic did not crash stock markets, cancel church services, or close businesses. That virus – highly infectious and able to mutate – had no vaccine and killed a million worldwide and 100,000 in the US, but Americans just social-distanced, washed hands, and rode the bus less.
Truth be told, I am 100% following the FAUCI plan, even though it feels over the top in my rural community. The right to life is paramount, and social distancing by the people and for the people is an act of patriotism: neighbors self-protecting. But – – good neighbors shouldn’t deny another’s right to consider alternative paths, which is why I ignore knee-jerk “expert” opinions condemning Georgia, Stanford and Sweden as enemies of science and data.
Re-opening tattoo parlors doesn’t prove Georgia’s governor ignored data, and the mayor of Las Vegas might know her city better than the governor – even if her “control group” argument was absurd. Perhaps the Stanford study (and a heat wave) invited Los Angelenos to storm the beaches against Sacramento mandates. Ahem, strong-central-state advocates should remember China has yet to stop the Whopper Virus.
COVID-19 has alerted we the people to the paucity of open-and-honest institutions, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and mainstream media. The WHO suppressed news of Taiwan’s coronavirus research because it only recognizes communist China. Liberal media have defended Michigan’s over-reaction by describing the open-up protestors in Lansing as deplorable, and smeared Sweden’s under-reaction by describing stay-open diners in Stockholm as science deniers. The stench of institutional bias is vast.
The most disturbing war pits the world of scientific curiosity against the world of scientific dogma. Scientific dogma will keep US grade schools closed – even though Israel, Sweden and Australia beg to differ. Scientific dogma won’t lower COVID-19 morbidity rates – even though Stanford scientists beg to differ. And you can bet the CDC won’t confirm COVID-19 has mutated into terminal melancholy – even though I’m sure I have it.