It's Time

They say opinions are like belly buttons. Actually, they say opinions are like another part of the party, but this is a family blog.  Everybody has one.   Since everyone has one, here is mine. (Opinion, not my belly button.)

It is time. It is time to ease the Covid-19 restrictions and get back to work.

I didn't have a problem with the "lockdown" at first.

On New Year's Eve, my wife went for a physical. After they took her EKG, they escorted her to the Emergency Department of the hospital. She had Atrial Fibrillation (AFIB).  I was working and she called me to come down to the emergency room. When I got there, the emergency room was packed. It was ten o'clock in the morning.  I asked a nurse what was going on.

She said, "It's the flu".

When they came out on those March days and said we had to flatten the curve so hospitals would not be overwhelmed.  I thought back to New Year's Eve. Flattening the curve made a lot of sense.

Here we are two months later and it looks like, in a lot of places, we took that curve and stomped that sucker flat. Okay, maybe not flat, but flat enough.  We should be happy about that.

We should be chomping at the bit and ready to open up small businesses, restaurants, and bars. Bring on the ball games. Let's go to church!

But we're not. We are scared nearly half to death.

We are scared because most of us have never faced anything like this before. A virus of all things, that could change you and your family's lives.

The polio vaccine came out five years before I was born, so I've never had to worry about polio. We've had vaccines to prevent all sorts of maladies from chickenpox to the flu.

We are scared because of the news media.

I'm not saying the news media is overhyping Covid-19.  It is serious.  The problem is how serious.  The media spent a good part of early 2020 telling us Covid-19 was no big deal.  Then when Tom Hanks got it, Covid-19 became the Bubonic Plague.

We are scared because of our leaders.

There's a lot of blame to go around, okay.  Trump's skill set is for building a hospital, not running a hospital. Trump simply isn't wired to be the Clinician In Chief. At times, he wanted to remind you about how great he is (in case you had forgotten) before you die.

But, give the devil his due. He's done what the lonesome friends of science said to do.

The other side doesn't have much to be proud of either. Coming after the incredibly stupid impeachment, you get the impression that a lot of Democrats and news media (I know, one and the same), saw this as their one BIG chance to finally get Trump.

We are scared because of the two sides in social media.

One side believes the whole thing is a plot, a conspiracy by Bill Gates or Hillary Clinton or somebody. It was a "Plandemic" so the whole economy could crumble and Gates can implant his secret Anti-Christ chips in you so that you would have to pay to have them removed to get the new improved Anti-Christ chips two years later.

This side believes the data has been rigged: they've over-inflated the mortality rate. A person dies of a brain tumor but is found to have Covid-19 and becomes a  COVID-19 statistic.

The other side is the side of reason and science. They are always claiming this governor or that governor who oddly enough always seems to be a Republican, will have "blood on their hands", simply because he allowed a hairdresser to open her shop.

This side enjoys the restrictions. Or rather, enjoys enforcing the restrictions which often seem capricious and arbitrary.  You can't buy seeds in Michigan but boy you can get as many abortions as you want.

This side loves to wag their finger in the face of those who may see things a little bit differently.

One person on Twitter wrote these words:  "It seems GENX is hell-bent on killing The Greatest Generation who today are 75+ [Technically, true, but most of the Greatest Generation that is still alive are in their 90s] The people demanding their right to go hang at the beach willfully sacrificing the people who stormed the beaches of Normandy."  Central Park is open, in New York, the hottest of all hot spots.  The Subway is open, in New York, the hottest of all hot spots. If they can be open, a beach can be open.

James Lileks said, "But if you want to go to a beach, your desire is characterized as “demanding your right to go hang at the beach,” which makes both the action and the voicing of your understanding of your rights something to be pilloried. You are now one of those idiots who are demanding their rights, which says it all these days."


This side has moved the goal post.  It used to be: "flatten the curve". Now it is "testing everyone" and/or vaccine. Really. The most reliable test is a swab that is stuck so far up your nose somebody said "it can read your thoughts."  And of course, it could always come back with a false negative or a false positive.

Oh yeah, this side also says the data has been rigged. "They are under-reporting it in Georiga and Florida because the governors are goofball monkey boys of the President".

Look, I didn't sign up for any of this.  I signed up to flatten the curve.

The curve is flattened enough in most places.  Where it is not, keep the restrictions but don't enjoy them as much.
 
Let's go. We have an economy to rebuild.