CoVid Mission Shift

Doctors and scientists are not and should not act as if they are politicians.  Politicians are not and should not act as if they are doctors.  But that is exactly what is going on with CoVid, and it is a disaster.

Let me begin by saying that I believe CoVid is very real and very dangerous.  It is not the flu.  It may or may not have a death rate similar to the flu.  But its transmission is far different from the flu and it can and does kill, it can and does spread more easily than the flu, and its long term effects are unknown.  Even with a vaccine it will likely be with us forever.

That being said, the shut down hysteria is ridiculous and is based in politics far more than it is in science.

Let’s briefly review.  When the virus first arrived from China we knew nothing about it except that it seemed to spread easily and that it killed people.  People who were severely infected with the virus needed ICU care and ventilators.  We were concerned that there might not be enough beds or ventilators, so, the scientists suggested that we do something to “slow the spread.”

“Slow the spread” never meant eradicate the virus.  It meant try to keep the rate of spread slower than it was so that the hospitals would not be overloaded and we would not run out of ventilators.  A variety of measures were taken to slow the spread in the early spring.  There were major shutdowns. We even provided unemployment bonuses to encourage people not to come to work.  We watched the daily numbers on our TV screens.  We slowed the spread and the threat of overtaxing our resources was eliminated, in part because of the slower spread and in part because of the President’s efforts to join with industry and manufacture ventilators and other needed supplies.

Up to this point, things seemed to make sense given what we knew about the virus.  There were the expected attacks on the President – he acted too fast/too slow in shutting things down, closing entry from infected countries, etc, but for the most part we accomplished the goal.  We slowed the spread and the medical effects of the virus became manageable.

But then something happened.  We had a mission shift.  As people began to venture out, some still got the virus.  The Democrats said Trump was killing people.  The media became hysterical.  The virus was still here.  Somehow, we seemed to think that the “slow the spread” guidelines should have completely rid us of the virus. 

Democrats loved this – they could blame Trump that the virus is still here while at the same time attacking everything he has done.  Their candidate, Hidin’ Biden, could sit in his basement and read prepared critiques while pointing to numbers saying people are still dying.  This of course easily combines with the media’s love for, and talent in, creating hysteria.  As the disease continues to spread the idea of uncertainty is pushed; and, with uncertainty comes not only hysteria, but also a need to blame someone – the media and the Democrats point us to the perfect target – Trump. 

And, what a wonderful campaign tool to be used by a Party that needs to hide its candidate from public scrutiny.  Make Trump and other Republicans out to be unconcerned about the citizenry if they go outside to campaign.  Trump should not have rallies; he should not travel or make presidential appearances.  People should not be allowed to gather at places like conservative churches.  Presidential debates are being rescheduled (and I for one expect that Biden will find a CoVid reason to ultimately cancel).  We must have full mail in voting (which, unlike absentee mailed votes is fraught with the potential for abuse and fraud) because going outside to vote is too risky.  This at the same time as the Democrats have no problems with protestors and rioters gathering in large numbers to assert Progressive demands and attack traditional values as well as public property and private businesses. (New Mexico’s Governor said that door-to-door campaigning “is just a terrible idea in a CoVid world,” while asserting there is “no data linking political protests to outbreaks of the disease.”)  How convenient – Trump and conservative activities bad, Progressive activities good. 

And so we see a variety of ridiculous prohibitions put into place against the backdrop of fear and hysteria over the simple and always expected fact that CoVid is still with us.

How can a governor (NM) order breweries open but bars closed?  Either getting together in a room for a drink heightens the risk of CoVId or it does not.  But, it is a younger, more left leaning crowd that generally frequents breweries.  Why does Ohio require bars to close at 11 – does CoVid suddenly become more aggressive later in the evening?  Why can a professional soccer team in New Mexico continue to play while high school and college soccer are banned?  Why are crowded planes OK but theaters must stay closed?  Why is it OK for Dr. Fauci to remove his mask when sitting next to two other individuals in the baseball stands, but not OK for someone to not wear a mask when they are walking alone on an outside trail?  Why is it OK to gather with or without masks to assault federal property, but not ok to sing a song in church? 

These and many other similar questions suggest that the current shut downs along with the current distancing and mask wearing requirements are more about furthering one or another agenda than serving some medical or scientific purpose.  If masks are necessary to protect us, then orders to wear masks should be without exception.  If bars are a breeding ground for CoVid, then all bars should be fully closed.  The fact that rules that are allegedly to protect the public health are fraught with exceptions belies their stated purpose and strongly suggests a different and likely political purpose instead.

There is no way to fully prevent CoVid, to guarantee that no one will become infected.  That is the fact, and that is the problem.  The media has ginned people up to become hysterical over that fact.  The scientists, some of whom seem to enjoy the limelight, like to make predictions or tell us what they think we should do.  The politicians use data and recommendations selectively to make demands that have nothing to do with CoVid.  And, if the Democrats can, they will keep this going until the election. 

Dr. Fauci yesterday suggested goggles and face shields in addition to masks.  Really?  Are we all going to let them put us in hazmat suits before this is over?  A doctor suggests all sorts of things to prevent risks.  Our doctors tell us what to eat for our heart, our weight, etc.  Sometimes we follow their advice, sometimes we don’t.  Sometimes Leftist politicians try to make those decisions for us (for example, banning large soft drinks).  But we have never let our doctors, in conjunction with our politicians, put us in a bubble. 

A bubble is where we likely need to stay for the rest of our lives if we are to be protected with certainty from CoVid.  But that is also where we need to be if we are to be protected from life’s many dangers – auto accidents, flu, broken bones, being attacked, infecting a loved one with any number of diseases we might contract, etc. 

Until CoVid, we seemed capable of entering life’s ebb and flow based on our own assessments of our own individual circumstances and risks.  Yet, suddenly, our politicians seem to think they must pick and choose when and where we can go, with whom, and what we should wear.  And we let them.  And we fail to see that what they are really doing is putting into place rules and behaviors and laws that in the end have nothing to do with CoVid but with their own policies.  Things like guaranteed minimum wage, guaranteed income, general health care criteria, gun laws, tax bases, school programs, and many other items on political wish lists should not be attached in any way to CoVid.  Nor should efforts to modify or direct individual human behavior and individual choices and decisions about what activities are better or worse.  Efforts to usurp power to control individual behavior should not be allowed without appropriate Constitutional or legislative authority.

Here is what I think.  We need to understand that doctors give ADVICE which they think is in our best interests.  When the doctor is not our personal doctor we must add to that advice and weigh with it our knowledge of our own personal circumstances.  And, added to that and weighed with it is that no doctor or scientist is yet fully knowledgeable about CoVid or its possible effects. 

Doctors along with us need to remember that while they are likely more informed than us about medical issues and about CoVid, that does not make them actually better than us or give them a right to order or control our behavior.

We must also understand that the politicians are not our doctors.  They have their own agendas and the CoVid is simply something that they are using to further those agendas and their own quest for power. 

CoVid is a part of our world and we must learn to live with it, not hide from it.  We must take the precautions that fit our personal circumstances and which we all, as members of a society, can reasonably take as part of our concern for our fellows.  This generally includes a choice to social distance and wear a mask, wash our hands, and avoid others when we are not feeling well.  We can decide for ourselves what venues and gatherings are appropriate to attend or not attend.  We do not need a Big Brother to order our choices for us and we should not suggest that we cede our personal liberties to the State.

Uncertainty is a part of life, and CoVid is now a part of that uncertainty.  We must not let the doctors, the scientists, the politicians, or the media use that uncertainty to divert us from our own ability to act reasonably and make our own decisions.  There is no reason to be hysterical.  CoVid, its risks, and its unknowns are just another part of life’s many uncertainties, uncertainties that our freedoms allow and demand us to navigate on our own.  Seeking relief from those uncertainties by turning our freedom of choice over to others provides only the certainty that we will lose our freedom to be who we are.