by Tom Sine
A NATIONAL CRISIS 2021… COVID-19 is putting the future of our society in peril
We are in a global battle with a deadly enemy: the COVID-19 Pandemic. A number of nations are wining the battle like New Zealand and Taiwan because they took the enemy very seriously very early on, their citizens followed medical professionals seriously, and took immediate steps to protect themselves and their neighbors from this deadly Pandemic. As a consequence, these two nations and a few others have won the battle and they are opening their societies again.
However, in the United States, COVID-19 is spreading out of control in many parts of our country. One of the major reasons it is spreading so aggressively is that a large number of Americans seem to be in denial about the danger this dangerous enemy poses. For example, disappointing numbers of Americans dismiss the warnings and advice of health professionals and refuse to cooperate in joining their neighbors to defeat this deadly enemy.
As a consequence, hospitals all over America are in serious danger of not being able to care for the rapidly expanding numbers of patients. The Washington Post reported on December 9 that “the United States once again set terrible multiple terrible records…3,140 corona virus deaths in one day, More than more than 106,000 covid-19 patients in hospitals, and a running average of more than 208,000 new daily cases.”
Confronting our Failure to Take the Advice of Health Professionals Seriously
One of the reasons a growing number of Americans are catching this deadly flu and dying is that too many of us are not taking this deadly enemy seriously. I believe the second reason we are losing this war is that we seem to have less regard for the advice of health professional that people is a host of other nations who have brought the virus under control through a high level of citizen collaboration and bringing pandemic control.
A major reason we American are facing a health care disaster as we race into 2021 is that many of us seem to have little regard for scientific advice of health professionals due to the disruptive influence who embrace the “fake news mantra”that have become popular in the US recently.
Many seem to uncritically embrace unsubstantiated conspiracy theories. As a consequence as we are involved in a battle with a deadly COVID-19 Is expanding more rapidly in America than a number of other countries due a huge number American who refuse to take informed medical advice seriously are putting their lives and the lives of their loved ones at serious risk. Wouldn’t be a disaster to see an escalating number of Americans, who care about human life, loose this deadly war because we refuse to follow informed medical advice?
A NATIONAL CRISIS 1941… World War II was a deadly killer.
I want to show you how we can all become united in battling this deadly pandemic just like we did in battling the common enemy in World War II. I will show you how we can defeat this deadly COVID-19 virus, by collaborating with our medical warriors and our national leaders as they launch a new program of inoculation to defeat the deadly threat of COVID-19. It will also enable us to open our society again and reignite our economy. Then we can join with others in defeating this deadly virus that threatens the lives of our most vulnerable neighbors in countries all over our planet.
Let me show you the stark contrast of how Americans responded to our first national crisis as we joined our allies in World War II. Then, I will briefly show how the fake news message has been undermining our ability to defeat the deadly COVID-19 virus that continues to destroy precious human lives, not only in the US, but everywhere on our planet.
I am one of a small, aging population of Americans, who actually still remembers World War II. When I was 5 years old, I vividly remember my mother, Katherine, on December 7, 1941, pulling me up on her bed next to her and saying, “Tommy it is very important you listen to this very important news”, as she turned on our only small radio in my parent’s bedroom. “I want you to listen to President Roosevelt and remember what you hear.”
I heard President Roosevelt, with millions of other Americans, declare: “This day will live in infamy”, as he described Japan’s unprovoked bombing of our ships and our sailors in Pearl Harbor as an act of war.
My mother then explained, “this means that our country is going to war.” As a 5-year-old, I did understand we were going to be involved in fighting with planes and boats. But, of course, I had no idea of the gravity of what was happening. The United States was drawn into this global war that was a devastating war for people in many different countries. It also dramatically changed all of our lives.
For example, three months later, as a 6-year-old, I was on a train to San Francisco to rejoin my parents. A month earlier, my father and mother had moved to San Francisco so my dad could take a job building ships to transport American troops. A retired woman and friend of the family, Joan, accompanied me on that long train ride. After I settled into a small apartment, the reality of the war suddenly became more real. I started experiencing sporadic air raid drills at Redding Elementary School and in the evenings at home. We never knew if they were real or not; which, even for children, made everything more uncertain.
WORLD WAR II CRISIS – We all pulled together
However, what I found particularly impressive was the remarkable way I saw people in news reels all over America responding to this national crisis by working together like one big family. Wives took jobs in factories. Farmers started focusing their farming to feed the troops as well as those of us at home. Many people started cutting back their spending to buy War Bonds to support our troops and our allies. We all seemed to sense how important it was to work together to defeat this common threat. Americans all over the country, without regard to political affiliation, started investing their time and resources together to help support this important effort. Of course, there were pacifists whose values did not allow them to go to war but they served at home in a range of ways.
I remember that suddenly the range of food we could buy in stores was sharply rationed to support our troops. People started planting Victory Gardens and recycling everything. I still remember that first Christmas when my dad, Tom, made me a scooter out of a couple of old two-by-fours and the two halves of a broken roller skate since there were very few toys available for Christmas in 1943.
One of the reasons we were so strongly united in the 1940s was our society wasn’t as divided as it is today. We set aside our political differences as Republicans, Democrats and Independents to focus on supporting our troops in defeating our common enemy with our allies.
SCIENCE IS RIGHT! & COVID DEATH WAVE IS OUT OF CONTROL!
As we race into 2021, we need to join those who are setting aside political differences. We need to support our medical warriors who are risking their lives every single day to protect us from our common foe. It is essential that we embrace those who remind us of the scientific fact that everyone on our planet is facing a deadly foe… that COVID-19 is real… and it is intent on killing hundreds of thousands, not only in the United States, but all over the planet.
We need to start by categorically rejecting the fiction that COVID-19 isn’t real. Apparently, a number of gullible people who have embraced conspiracy theories are actually in denial that the COVID-19 Pandemic is real. In fact, last week I heard a story of a hospitalized woman, in the final stages of dying from COVID-19 exclaiming, “how can this be happening to me… this virus isn’t real!!”
IN 2021, LET’S ALL PULL TOGETHER & PUT HUMAN LIFE FIRST!!!
We didn’t doubt for a second that our lives and futures were at serous risk during the WW II crisis. No one denied that our opponent was real. Just over 400,000 Americans lost their lives. The COVID-19 Pandemic has already taken 283,000 American lives according to the Washington Post on December 8, 2020. Everyday we are losing front-line health workers to COVID-19 and those courageous doctors and nurses assure you it is real and it is deadly.
FAKE NEWS IS FAKE! WEARING MASKS & DISTANCING SAVES LIVES!
Apparently, a surprising number of Americans today seem to have “drunk the Kool-Aid” and are in total denial that COVID-19 is real and that wearing masks and social distancing are essential. Instead of following the important guidelines of our medical leaders, fake news advocates are urging us to dismiss such medical instructions as nonsense or a violation of our “personal rights”.
Because of our current lack of commitment to take needed preventative steps, The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation reports that the number of cases of COVID 19 in the US now surpasses 15.5 million with more than 292,00 deaths. They predict that rates are increasing and about 538,893 Americans are projected to die of COVID-19 by April 1, 2021. Why can’t Christians who believe we are called to love our neighbors and care about human life join those who put protecting human life first?
This new global crisis is likely to take more lives than the number of Americans that our country lost in World War II. Frankly, it looks like Christmas and New Year’s could be even larger spreading events than Thanksgiving unless we become united with our health care workers and are determined to win this war too.
IF YOU CARE FOR THE LIVES OF YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS… CHOOSE VIRTUAL CHRISTMAS!!!
Are you planning to put the lives of family and friends at risk by hosting super-spreader events for Christmas and the New Year… like too many Americans did at Thanksgiving?
Until we all get our vaccine shots, we urge you, who love your family and friends, to consider “virtual” Christmas and New Years Celebrations!
Christine and I canceled our Thanksgiving plans with two other couples who shared our concerns about spreading the virus. Instead, we had a Zoom Thanksgiving dinner with Christine’s nephew, niece, and their two pre-schoolers in Sydney, Australia. It was their lunchtime and our dinnertime. We had a lovely on-screen conversation as we dined and a good visit with them afterwords. It was one of our best Thanksgivings ever.
We urge everyone to consider substituting a Zoom visit this Christmas not only for dining together but planning activities as well that is recommended by AARP Magazine. Doesn’t that option make sense to wait since most of us will likely be able to receive a vaccine in 2021?
SUPPORT BIDEN & HARRIS TO DEFEAT COVID-19 in US & SAVE THOUSANDS OF LIVES!
The COVID-19 Pandemic is a deadly threat. It is real and scientific research can be trusted. In our Christian community, we are looking forward to joining people of faith and a broad range of political affiliations to become united in defeating the COVID-19 pandemic. We invite you to “join hands” with those of all political views by responding to the call of our new President Joe Biden’s and Vice President Kamala Harris’s call to join an initial 100 day campaign to defeat this killer pandemic by wearing masks and social distancing to significantly reduce the pandemic. It will save lives of both your family and neighbors until we all can get in live for the new vaccine.
If we all pull together in common cause, we can win this global war with the deadly COVID-19 Pandemic!!! We ALL need to work together as a nation not only to get our economy rolling again but to open all of our schools. We need to reach out to ensure our neighbors everywhere also have access to the life-saving vaccine. As we pull together, we demonstrate our commitment to win this global war, save human lives and defeat this demonic pandemic!
FEEDBACK
I welcome your responses and your new examples of cooperation to defeat COVID-19 in your community. Also, I would like to know if you share it and what kind of response you receive. Please contact me here.
Wishing you and yours a safe and joyous Christmas and a new year in which we work together with health professionals and national leaders to win this war and join other nations in creating an open society where we care for one another in the turbulent 2020s!