We battled more than one pandemic - Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor

Here’s what I learned over the last several years, and my greatest fear is that the world learned the same things I did. I’ve learned Hillary Clinton was right…about almost everything, but in particular, that we are “stronger together.” President Biden echoes that sentiment when he says “There is nothing the American people can’t do when we work together.” True, but it seems there is little chance of that happening with everyone. And I’m not alone in that observation. Russia is all too aware of how easy it is to get Americans to fight amongst themselves, while ignoring looming threats on the horizon. That’s true whether the threat is from foreign or domestic sources. This is a national security vulnerability, and we play right into it.
Nothing brought our Achilles heel into sharper focus than the global pandemic. As we watched Italy and New York go through a frightening spike in cases and deaths, we were given guidance on how to mitigate the transmission of the virus. Did we follow that guidance? Some of us did. Far too many did not, and our nation’s suffering deepened and prolonged as a result. Wearing a mask was an adjustment, as was staying home and limiting our exposure, but some of us considered the alternative and decided to protect each other. Others simply refused because of ”LIBERTY AND FREEDOM.” “YEAH!” (Eye roll…) Our inability to work together to accomplish a desired goal cost far too many Americans their lives. It was accurately said that we were battling three pandemics, COVID-19, complacency, and stupidity.
That last “pandemic” seems widespread among at least 35% of the voting public. These people believe things to be true that are demonstrably false. When you point that out to them, they just believe it all the more strongly. This is a gift and a boon to any bad actors, whether foreign or domestic, that wish to destabilize our society and sow division. What’s worse is that some elected officials are all too willing to perpetuate and disseminate these falsehoods. As if things aren’t bad enough, now these same elected officials are proposing and passing legislation based on, and because of, these lies. Now hard-fought wins in voting rights and access to the ballot box are being stripped away from mostly Black and Brown people based on a known and provable lie. It’s all by design. How whacked is that?

William Windsor
Fort Madison