A Covid-19 vaccine cannot come soon enough.
The misery around the world caused by this pandemic has only just begun. Some countries simply do not have the necessary resources to control the spread of the virus, others lack the political will to do so. Pakistan, Brazil, the Philippines, India – their slums will run rampant with sickness and death. Everyone will be infected, and only the strong will survive.
Even in countries that initially controlled the virus, such as South Korea and China, once the basics of control such as wearing masks and social distancing are relaxed, the virus returns.
People everywhere become tired of social isolation and rebel against social responsibility. They reach a point where memories of their old life become too strong. There is a longing to return to what once was, and eventually self-control gives way to selfishness and desperation. So people justify their actions by claiming “it’s God’s will” or “constitutional rights” or “I’m too young to die” or “I just want to have fun.”
We’ve already seen enough to know what a disaster social stupidity will lead to. Now is the time for us all to focus on acting smart and for the common good. Running around without masks, crowding together in bars and restaurants and rodeos – this is just stupid and selfish behavior. It is understood that there are parts of our country that have very little virus presence, but making the assumption that this will be the case forever is just asking for trouble. Sooner or later some asymptomatic or symptomatic person will join in the fun, and then the virus will be there too.
Our medical experts have laid out a reasonable course of action to open up our economy in a way that will minimize the uncontrolled spread of the virus. We need to listen to them and follow their advice. This is what they are good at.
We owe it to ourselves and our families and our neighbors to accept that there will be a “new normal” and to begin to act accordingly.
We cannot rely on government direction alone to dictate what we can and cannot do. Government direction that does not consider the needs and desires of the people cannot work much longer. We the American people have to decide for ourselves what our “new normal” will be, and then act accordingly.
Mask wearing and social distancing seems like a small price to pay in exchange for enjoying most of our freedoms. But we need to collectively agree that we will avoid social stupidity like the plague that it is if this “new normal” is going to work. We need to agree to hold each other accountable for acting stupid as well.
We should thank God that we live in this country where we have the space and the resources and the wealth to create our own “new normal”. We have the power to define what this country will be – let’s forget about all of this divisive red vs. blue nonsense, start thinking for ourselves, and start acting smart for a change.