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| Photo: Vincent Zandri |
As a writer, I rarely let a major crisis go to waste. So you would think by now, I would have
chimed in on the ongoing pandemic which has gripped the nation and the world.
But other than a few rather incendiary posts on Facebook and Twitter regarding speculation as to the severity and mainstream media misinformation
surrounding Wuhan Virus/Covid-19, I've been pretty quiet on the topic, until
today.
Because of my profession, my days
have been relatively unchanged. I still get up, make the coffee, head to my
desk, and pump out the word count. Break for a workout, then back to the desk.
In the afternoons, I write some more and after that, take care of the business of
writing--answering emails, setting up promos, creating book ads, etc. In
between all that, maybe I'll go for a walk or, in the warmer weather, pull out
the fly rod and do a little fishing. Like I said, for a full-time writer,
normalcy.
But that's where the normalcy ends.
When the working day is over, a feeling of isolation and even despair washes
over my body like a wet blanket. I can't shrug it, any more than I can explain
it in black and white terms. The POTUS and many of his people equate the impact
of the virus to a war. For certain, I understand what they're going for. We
have brave and unselfish front line medical workers instead of soldiers
combating the deadly illness in Iwo Jima-like hotspots such as New York City,
parts of New Jersey, and other cities where all walks of life live on top of
one another.
But up here in Albany, which is
mostly suburbia surrounded by rural communities, the viral impact hasn't been
so hot. We've suffered less than 40 deaths due to the disease in Albany County
but some New York State regions have recorded no cases of the disease at all.
The deaths have largely been elderly and/or those with existing medical
conditions. By contrast, I attempted to find out how many regular flu deaths
have occurred this season. But the New York State Department of Health has
suspended all reporting and statistic gathering since having shifted their
focus to Covid-19. However, the department reports 2019/20 as one of the worst
years on record for the flu. In 2017, 78 Albany County residents of all
different age groups died from the flu. One can only assume, given the numbers,
the body count is worse this year. Kind of gives you pause doesn't it?
Governor Andrew Cuomo has called for
a one size fits all stay-at-home solution to the pandemic problem, which has
left many, suddenly unemployed residents despondent, not only over their lack
of an income, but their lack of a life.
I've been trying to put the whole
nightmare into some kind of relatable perspective. I've come to the conclusion
that war isn't the appropriate analogy. Wars are tangible, with bombs, guns,
tanks rolling in, planes overhead, missiles and rockets creating shock and awe.
It's all very visual and dramatic. This pandemic is not. It's silent, and for
some deadly, and it strikes with a whimper as opposed to military warfare's
bang.
If I had to relate it to something
less militaristic, it's more like watching your once vibrant and promising,
happy go lucky child suddenly succumb to mental illness. In war, you can outgun
the enemy. You can starve them out. You can blockade them. Heck, you can nuke
them. But in the case of a pandemic, you feel utterly helpless. You sit at
home, and you watch what was only yesterday the most vibrant and promising
economy in the world, suddenly succumb to insanity and panic. Panic exacerbated
by social media, by the mainstream media, by politicians. You see people who've
worked all their lives to build a business suddenly have to close their doors,
with no hope of ever reopening again. In a word, you're watching an America
commit suicide before your very eyes.
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| Photo: The Federalist |
For the first few weeks, I took the
entire stay at home, social distance, wear the mask thing very seriously. It
was the least I could do to try and get over this thing quickly and get America
back to work before the cure became more deadly than the disease. But then
something very insidious began to happen. Politics entered the equation.
While Congress tried to rush through
stimulus and payroll protection programs, liberal Democrats stopped the process
in its tracks. Why? In Saul Alynski, "Rules for Radical" terms, they
did not wish for a good crisis to go to waste. That said, House
Democrats under leader Nancy Pelosi, insisted the bills contain all sorts of
liberal goodies like the Green New Deal, bail out money for near bankrupt
cities run by Democrat governors, and even $25 million for the Kennedy
Center.
Later on we'd see Hillary Clinton
echoing Alynski (her graduate school hero) by repeating his never let a good
crisis go to waste dogma by insisting that maybe now, we can institute
Universal Healthcare in America. It all got me to thinking, was the left truly
interesting in restarting the economy? Or were they intent on seeing it so
destroyed to beyond Great Depression levels that would leave the majority of Americans
having no choice but to accept socialism as a form of government. We'd be
dependent on the government for our daily bread, our utter existence, and
liberals would get exactly what they wanted all along. Ultimate power.
There's no denying the Wuhan Corona
Virus exists and that for some individuals and specific overly populated
geographical locations, it is deadly. As deadly as the common flu perhaps.
Perhaps even as deadly as the number of opioid deaths that plague Americans on
an annual basis. Funny when you think about it. The virus originated in China.
China also floods the US with deadly fentanyl. But that's for another
essay.
Today I attended an
anti-Stay-at-Home rally in downtown Albany. The weather was the usual early
spring upstate gray, cool, and rainy. It was well attended but not overly so.
No guns, no violence, no drama. While many protested the governor and his
policies, others protested government overreach in general. But what struck me
the most, were the protestors who were warning not of a killer virus, but
instead, the deadly effects of one's deteriorating mental health. With the
crumbling of the economy, there will only be one outcome. Suicides, incidents
of domestic violence, and violent acts of desperation will be on the rise. The
police need to be vigilant.
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| Photo: Vincent Zandri |
During the Spanish Civil War, while
bombs rained on the Spanish earth and its citizens with alarming regularity,
the population did something extraordinary. They went to work, day in and day
out. They could have stayed home, but in their minds, life had to go on. A
semblance of normalcy was a palliative for violent abnormal conditions. People
not only needed money, but they needed to feel wanted. They needed to feel
essential.
If there is a ray of hope in this train
wreck, it's that this virus will pass, sooner or later. But in the meantime, if
we are going to achieve victory in this war against this pandemic, we will not
only need to get back to work as soon as possible, we will need to call out
politicians who have blatantly used it to progress their own selfish
agenda.
This is a time of crisis for all
freedom loving people. It would be a shame to let it go to waste.
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