One of the best political lines I have heard this century came from Hillary Clinton when she described the Republican health care plan as the YOYO Plan as in You’re On Your Own. Turn the clock ahead a few years, install Donald Trump as the poster boy of the GOP, add a pandemic and you will find little has changed. Let’s explore.
We now have a vaccine, the supply is inadequate and the future of it uncertain but at least there is light at the end of the tunnel. The bad news is that the tunnel is very long and we won’t reach its end until at least this summer. The Trump administration couldn’t have done a much worse job of managing the crisis if they tried to as is illustrated by our position in the world as measured by the virus. We are solidly in the number one spot in cases. With less than 5% of the global population we have 20% of the world’s cases. Mr. Trump that is not what makes America a great country.
Trump’s defenders like to say that he was just unlucky to have a once in a century pandemic on his watch. They say it could have been worse. They have a point in that it could always be worse. However if he had paid attention to it when he first found out about it instead of denying and dismissing it as a hoax and had not previously disbanded the tasks force charged with pandemic prevention it would have not been as bad as it still is. (We are a long way from was.) The bottom lines are that it should have been much better and under competent leadership it would have been better.
All that said you are essentially on your own. The Biden administration will do better but it will take time. Don’t expect a magic wand to be waved on January 20th. In the interim you are largely on your own. You can only control your own actions and in the cases of some bosses, peer group leaders and parents the actions of a small group that follows your lead/orders.
You can’t control the guy or gal who won’t wear a mask or practice social distancing. In most cases talking to them will be a waste of time and in the process unnecessarily expose you to the risk of contracting the virus. My advice is to not bother and if at all possible avoid them.
There are three simple things you can do that will increase your chances of making it to the point where enough people have been immunized that life will return to something very close to the “old normal”. The most important is to wear a mask in public. The three ply masks with a proper filter seem to be the most effective of the masks readily available to the public.
Next, is social distancing including avoiding crowds, especially indoors. When interacting with others do so from a distance of six feet or more whenever possible. I really like my closest neighbors. During our many conversations I haven’t been within six feet of them since mid-March. For the really religious among us there are other ways to support the church and praise God without gathering in a packed church. If you believe in an omnipotent God by definition you can communicate with him, her or it from any building on the planet or even outside for that matter. As to financially supporting the church you prefer you don’t have to attend a Sabbath service to contribute.
The last of the three is washing your hands. I began my “semi-confinement” on St. Patrick’s Day after a morning meeting with my primary care provider. The last nine words Cathy left me with were, “Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands.” I have followed her advice and I think I have washed my hands more in 2020 than all the previous years of this century combined. Cover your mouth when you cough – even if you are wearing a mask – if you do it with your hand instead of your elbow, wash them. Wash your hands anytime you touch anything along with before you touch food.
If you can’t control it; it’s not your responsibility. On the flip side if you can control it; it’s most definitely your responsibility. Play the odds and do these three simple things; you’ll probably come out a winner.
This article was written well ahead of publishing in order to accommodate my year end hiatus and is the property of tellthetruthonthem.com. Its content may not be used without citing the source. It may not be reproduced without the permission of Larry Marciniak.