Everywhere you look, everything you read these days has an opinion about how we deal with the Coronavirus pandemic. Why not?
It’s where we find ourselves.
In the middle of something that we are not sure how to get out of. Face masks. Should we wear them or not? If so, there aren’t any online or in the stores. We have to make them. How do you make them? Plenty of opinions on that. None though are making any sense to me.
What about social distancing during exercise? Is it okay to be outside when others are there? What is appropriate social distancing? Is six feet enough? What if a runner ahead of you coughs? What if you run through it? Are you going to get it?
Like I said, a lot of advice. Nothing clear cut.
So, when I read James E. Baker’s piece in the New York Times, I thought this is a great idea. It’s called, “It’s High Time We Fought this Virus the American Way.”
Mr. Baker is a former legal adviser to the National Security Council. He says the administration has all the authority it needs to produce medical supplies and prepare for a potential vaccine. He writes that while the president has invoked the Defense Production Act, he hasn’t used the full authority of the act.
President Trump calls it a war with an invisible enemy. He calls himself a wartime president.
Okay, then do it.
We are in this thing. We didn’t ask for it. It’s nobody’s fault.
We are however, in a war.
I’m not sure we are winning either. You can look back to World War Two to see how we came together. The country was at war.
We got our manufacturers to make what we needed to fight the enemy. We got our people to give up things that would help the war effort. Look, we are not making tanks and planes here. We are making respirators and protective gear. We are not making bombs. We are making medicines to treat a virus and a vaccine to keep it away. We’ve done it before. Polio.
I’m not saying this is going to be easy. It’s going to take time. The economy is going to suffer. People are going to die. We are there. We are in it.
Now, we gotta get out of it. Pull ourselves together. Work for the good of everyone. Show the world what America is all about. Show ’em what we can do. We’ve done it before.
I know, I know, we’ve gone soft. They don’t call them “The Greatest Generation” for nothing. They were. Now, it’s our turn. Our turn to show our greatness.
Sacrifice is necessary. Brain power is necessary. Coming together as a country is necessary. We can do this.
When it’s over, we can celebrate. Maybe not kissing strangers in the streets like they did when World War Two ended… but celebrate in our new social distancing kind of way.
I think that’s not going away for awhile.
I really love how Mr. Baker ends his piece. “It’s high time we fought the virus the American way: with everything we’ve got.” Let’s do this. Work together and beat this invisible enemy… with everything we’ve got.