Tag: Covid-19

Two Hypotheticals and All the Little Lies

A Hypothetical Message From Your President 

“Dear Citizens of the United States. I want you to understand why I concealed from you all that I knew about this vicious new virus back in February 2020. Yes, it’s true as the taped interviews reveal that I knew it was deadly – far deadlier than “the flu.” Yes, I knew it was airborne, could spread easily. Yes, I knew how to get that word out to you and have had medical experts who assured me that all of this was correct. However, I knew something else you might not know. You see, I knew I had to conceal the truth and tell you comfortable lies because of the massive bunch of bozos you are. My superior genius mind knew I couldn’t trust you with the truth or factual information about the risks facing you or you would lose your minds and run amok. Had I told you the truth you would have panicked and hurt the economy. You might have rioted. You could have accused your government of failing you. You might not have voted for me in November. So,  I’m sorry it didn’t work out like we hoped, but I’m sure you understand that a panic would have been bad for everyone, especially me, and this was only way I could think to not have one. Plus, this gave me an opportunity to lie and–let’s face it–that is my wheelhouse; one of my best skills. Yes, I know the death toll is nearing 200,000 people, but you know I never talk about that. It’s almost like it never happened. Thank you for your time. Oh! And thanks for your vote in the upcoming election. I think we can all agree I’ve done a great job of reducing panic and I deserve your support. And God Bless the USA. (Not that I really believe in God or the USA either, but you know, it’s traditional!)

Brilliantly yours,

Donald J Trump, President of the Untied States of America (In case you forgot.)

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A Hypothetical Message from Virtually Any Other Sensible American (Yes, including even a bozo like me who isn’t qualified to be President, but does believe in my nation, its people and science.)  Dated: February 17, 2020.

“My fellow citizens, as you are becoming aware, what we have long feared is happening; a deadly new virus called SARS-Cov-2 is spreading across the globe. This virus creates an illness known as COVID-19 which is lethal for some who get it and puts massive strain on healthcare systems. Already other countries have seen significant consequences both in their health and economic outcomes, so we must act now to prevent as much harm as possible here.

Let me say clearly that, while this situation is serious, there is no reason for panic. We are Americans who have faced many trials in our nation’s past and we will face, endure, and prevail over this one. We have the world’s leading medical and epidemiological experts and they are going to tell us all what we need to do to protect ourselves and those we love from infection and possible death. Please be aware that because this is a new virus, our knowledge and understanding of it will evolve over time, and recommendations may change accordingly, but for now, here is what we do know and need to do.

First of all, the current data suggests this virus is already in the United States and it is potentially more lethal than the flu. Besides treating those who are already ill, stopping the spread of this virus is crucial. This is important not only to protect our own health, but the health of others. Early data from China suggests that, just as with the flu, people who are elderly or immune compromised have greater risk for infection and higher mortality rates. However, everyone is at risk.

Second, early reports suggest that, once a person is infected, they do not immediately become ill, but may be able to infect others before they begin to show symptoms. This is known as “asymptomatic spread” and is a serious challenge.

Finally, all current evidence suggests this virus is airborne which means you do not have to touch something or someone to become infected. It can pass through the air from another person to you if they carry the virus and, as already noted, even before they show symptoms. This is yet another reason why we must take swift action now to stop the spread.

To accomplish this will mean all Americans working together to halt the virus from further in-roads into our nation, and here is what we all need to do. Begin by keeping at least six feet of social distancing when around others. Stay in as much as possible and if you must go out, wear a mask when you are in public, as you see me and those around me doing now.  This will protect you and others. You or anyone around you could be carrying the virus and not know it.

I call upon Congress – both the Democratically-led House and the Republican-led Senate to bring me a funding bill for massive testing and contact tracing of those who test positive for the corona virus. I call upon state and local governments to immediately begin coordinating with the CDC and Health and Human Services to accomplish this massive testing. Details will follow soon. In doing so, we can identify those who are infected, direct them to medical treatment, and limit the danger to others. We can also limit the harm to our economy. If necessary, I will enact the National Defense Production Act to get medical protective gear, ventilators and other crucial materials to those needing them. The CDC is already in conversations with pharmaceutical companies and the World Health Organization to begin work on a vaccine, but that is a long-term solution and will need months of development time, at least. We must anticipate, as we have seen in other countries, that we may need to quarantine, which will impact businesses and employees. We will need funding to meet those needs as well and I expect Congress to address these pressing issues.

This is a challenge. But I know the heart of the American people. You will rise to this occasion, you will make these necessary adjustments and sacrifices and your government will work with you to stop this virus, mitigate its harm, and help you medically and financially to continue your lives. A calm determination to overcome this trial is our best attitude to adopt now.

I now turn the podium over to leading experts to give you more information and answer questions.  We are all in this together and we will prevail. We are going to honor the heritage of those gave us this nation, and protect our children who will inherit it. We will make them proud of how we manage this trying time. God Bless the United States of America and God bless and keep each of you.”

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This latter is the hypothetical message the President—or any honest, intelligent, compassionate person—could and should have delivered to the U.S. early on, followed with regular updates on policy and public health needs guided by science. Instead we were lied to and the risks downplayed because Trump says he wanted to “avoid panic.” Instead, it all fell apart from sheer incompetence. All evidence suggests he wanted to protect his re-election. He has no other agenda. One day, his followers will see that.

Carry On – AB

The Problem of Baboons

“The alpha male baboon is not a leader; he just has the best stuff.” –Robert M. Sapolsky, author,  professor

I thought long and hard before writing this piece because comparing someone to one of our primate relatives is historically an odious, racist trope. Yet unlike racist intent, this is not about appearance or intellect – which one cannot change – it is about behavior which one can change. I use the comparison because it highlights a problem we must see clearly. And we do have a problem.

Robert Sapolsky, Stanford Professor of biology and neurology, studied baboons in their own habitat to better understand the biological basis of human behavior. Baboons live in social groups and the alpha male, typically the strongest and most aggressive, keeps his standing by intimidation and, when necessary, by violence. He does what he wants; getting his pick of the females and stealing food from other less aggressive males. Should you offer him food, he would think you’re weak. He will slaughter infants that are not his but keep his own progeny safe. In Sapolsky’s bestselling book Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst, he makes the observation I’ve quoted above, “The alpha male baboon is not a leader; he just has the best stuff.” The alpha male has no intention of serving the troop, he just wants access to the best resting spot, food and females for himself. In his standing, he feels entitled to anything he can take, all others are beneath him, and any resistance is met with force and violence.

America, we have made the mistake of putting an alpha male primate into a position calling for leadership. We mistook wealth—acquired by luck of birth, media fascination, and amoral animal cunning—with “success” as a leader. Too many of us mistook bullying for strength because the bully said things we wished we had the nerve to say. Donald J. Trump believes he should have the pick of the females and the possession of anything else he wants, including your lunch. His response to any challenge is to dominate and he will escalate to violence if intimidation fails. He will protect his own progeny and  be violent to others. He has called state governors “weak” for not intimidating and “dominating” those protesting the murders of unarmed African Americans. In this behavior, Donald Trump literally has the morals of a baboon. I don’t say it merely as an insult; I say it as a statement of objective fact.

I also hesitated to write this because I don’t typically indulge in mere name-calling. I try to understand what’s correct in someone’s positions. However, as we now work to remove DJT from office, we see intimidation escalating to violence as a response. In recent days, DJT sent anonymous armed thugs into U.S. cities to deny American citizens the right to peacefully protest. Indeed, it appears they intend to provoke resistance so that he can make a show of force to impress and intimidate the rest of us. He cares not at all if anonymous “officers” violate the protesters’ Constitutional rights to peaceful assembly and free speech. To him the only rules or societal norms that matter are those serving his purpose to remain at the top. With all that, the time for being civil in our opposition is over.

Worst of all, this has happened at a time of maximum peril from a global pandemic that requires actual leadership. Such leadership springs from an intent to serve the common good, in turn requiring empathy and concern for others. These are impulses which the alpha male’s brain is not at all wired to do.  Thus, the outcome of Trump’s baboon brain has been to serve only himself, to downplay the seriousness of this pandemic because it does not serve his re-election goals. Now we are a global epicenter of the pandemic, trapped inside our own nation by a wall—only ours is made up of disease and international disdain. How ironic. Our economy is trashed because the pandemic is uncontrolled because the alpha male baboon-in-chief is bored with it. Worse, DJT has inspired others to copy his behavior, engaging in their own narcissistic impulses, so that even wearing a mask – the simplest, most effective public health practice we currently have – has been transformed into a divisive message. A leader would have had the humility and intelligence to follow the science. The baboon-in-chief could not.

The next six months are going to be a dangerous time in America, perhaps the most dangerous since the Civil War. A plague is upon us and we not only have no leadership, we have an authoritarian baboon who plans to hurt us for trying to replace him with leadership. He has at his disposal levers of power and henchmen who will do his bidding regardless of legal barriers or social norms. This is a crisis; we must act like it.

I absolutely do not advocate violence of any kind, but our own non-violent response must be tougher and more unwavering than his. Conceding anything to him will be interpreted as weakness. He and his followers must obey the rule of law. We must insist that the U.S. Constitution means what it says. We must demand that law enforcement follow the Constitution, that our courts, our political leaders, our medical experts, and our own family, friends and neighbors do their civic duty to speak, to vote, to act, to publicly protest (in masks), to demand a higher calling from ourselves as a nation.

“Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide, in the strife of truth with falsehood for the good or evil side.”

This is that moment.

If we fail, we will become Baboon America, and no one in the world will be safe from that.  

Nature Don’t Care

In my first semester of college I had a profound religious experience. Having grown up in a family that practiced a perfunctory Christianity, I found myself surrounded by friends who took their faith quite seriously.  I was intrigued. This was in the early 1970’s when the “Jesus Movement” was well under way. I was persuaded and became fully involved. It was a culture where God was found more emotionally than intellectually, and more in experience than in clear thinking. I still have friends I made in those days and I learned some perspectives I continue to value, but I also picked up something theologically problematic; a belief that God would rearrange reality on my behalf. This is not an uncommon belief.

Of course, I never stated it that way; that would smack of undo pride and arrogance. What I said was that God would hear my prayers, meaning God would protect me, heal me, arrange the world to make sure favorable things happened for me. It was a belief that made me feel protected and valued, and in an emotional sense, what is love except feeling secure and valued by someone else?  It was comforting and powerful. But there was this one problem. I was a homosexual, and everyone assuring me that God had my back, also told me this was a very bad thing indeed. It would make God rethink loving me.

In the mistaken belief that I needed to undo my gay reality, I set out to provide all the conditions in which God could – and therefore of course, would – fix it. Heterosexual marriage and sex (in that order), seminary, ministry and service to others, Bible study, faithful prayer sometimes in tears, counseling both secular and spiritual, journaling, exorcism, ex-gay – for twenty-five years I did it all. Many things changed. Many great people crossed my life in meaningful ways. Many wonderful events and spiritual moments happened. A change in my sexual orientation was not one of them.

After 25 years of great difficulty and anguish, I finally realized there was a basic reality at work in my life and no amount of spirituality was going to change it. This was a valuable life lesson. When you try to live against reality, you can hurt yourself… and others. This became important for me – “Don’t try to live against reality.” Nature doesn’t care what you want or believe. So a mantra in my life is this “Nature don’t care.” I became more of an empiricist – show me the science. It is no accident that my 2nd career was grounded in reading, understanding, summarizing, and teaching others research-based ways of dealing with life issues.

Imagine an ideology determining gravity is “just a theory.” (And by the way, that is exactly what gravity is – a theoretical understanding of how spacetime works.) Imagine then being taught that with sufficient spirituality you can “transcend gravity.” I’m not talking about flying which has  scientific principles behind it. I mean the belief that, with sufficient faith, you can levitate off the ground. Some who engage in transcendental meditation have asserted exactly that. I’ll only say the evidence for this being true is lacking and as we in the research world are fond of saying: “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” No such evidence has emerged. For the rest of us mere mortals, acting upon this dismissal of gravity will lead to serious physical injury or even death. Imagine breaking an arm, leg, or your neck because you jumped off a ledge, and then having someone tell you the cause of your injury was not the fall, not the gravity, but your lack of faith and you should really repent of your disbelief and try it again. That is the idea of “faith” too frequently promoted.

This may seem an obvious life lesson, but today, especially in this era of pandemic, there are literally thousands of people who fail to apply this basic understanding in the real world. Claiming to be “covered in the blood of Jesus” or some other such religious-based, magical thinking they will swear they are immune to the SARS-Cov-2 virus. They will refuse to wear a mask, practice social distancing, or take other simple measures to protect themselves and others. God, they assert, will alter reality for them. Some have become ill. Some of have died. Some have infected and killed others. I don’t mention these folks to demean or mock them. I’m sorry for them. I’m sorry for those I misled with that same bad theology. I use my story, and sadly theirs as well, to illustrate the danger of these beliefs, how widespread they are, and how they threaten everyone.

Here’s the bottom line: God is not going to alter the physical world to suit your doctrines or even your health. Neither the world nor God work that way. Viruses are not moral agents; they are natural phenomenon and will follow the laws of nature. Whatever your religion, politics, intellectual rationalizations or other barriers against reality, nature don’t care. Learn to say this with me as a basic fact of life – Nature don’t care.

Shalom. AB