“These are unsettling times.”
I heard this quote three times on the same news
station the other morning. A national
news company, by the way, who may wish to edit their copy. The times need to be unsettling to justify
24-hour-a-day coverage. In my lifetime,
I’ve experienced the Cuban-Missile Crisis, the assassinations of John F.
Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King. There were also assassination attempts made
on Presidents Ford and Reagan. I remember as a boy hearing of the escalation of
the Vietnam War. In the late 1970s,
there was news of the Iranian hostage crisis.
In 2000, there was a contested presidential election that went to the
U.S. Supreme Court, and just a short time after that, there was the attack on
the World Trade Centers in New York.
This is just my own experience. Both of my parents lived through the Great
Depression and World War II. My father
even saw the flag raisings at Iwo Jima, so our current circumstances don’t seem
quite so bad.
I agree that this pandemic ushered in unsettling
times. How much of it is due to the natural
progression of the disease, the failure of government officials to take appropriate
action, and the overreporting or underreporting of relevant facts will only be
known in the future.
Locking Down Everything
Nearly every day there is an extension on lockdowns
amounting to practically no restaurants or bars open in the nation. In one Colorado county, there was a closing of
most businesses liquor stores and marijuana dispensaries excepted (officials figured
that a ban to such businesses would cause gnashing of the teeth).
The obvious issue to everyone (with the possible
exception of some Sanders’ supporters) is that this costs money. We are asking small businesses to take a financial
hit that no government stipend will remedy.
And any cost for this will have to come from the taxpayer’s
pockets. Worse, there is no definite
ending to these lockdowns to make it possible for businesses to plan
around. Without such certainties, many workplaces
see no alternative but to layoff a good portion of their work staff.
Yet anyone who suggests considering the financial
costs will likely be on the brunt end of criticism. “How can we place money before lives?” “You’re asking elderly people to give up
their lives so that we can save our 401(k)s?”
Retorts to such emotional travails that there will also be an impact
upon education, mental health, and the ability for certain people to buy their
daily necessities will go unheard.
Unfortunately, such costs will cost lives as well.
It would be good if we would listen to arguments from
all sides, including the one that we can’t make the cure worse than the
disease. Importantly, any solution
cannot overlook the needs of small businesses.
Allowing for small businesses to thrive in the United States is what has
made our country the top economy in the world.
Politics as usual
Will the coronavirus outbreak impact the 2020
presidential election? How could it not be a factor?
In the Democratic race, while for some reason
commentators wrote Joe Biden off, they made almost the same mistake they did
back in 2016. They didn’t wait to see
what South Carolina had to say about the primaries. Nobody seems to understand that black voters
do not support Bernie Sanders – no matter how many commentators tell such
voters that Sanders has their best interests at heart. Most black voters indeed believe that their
interests best lie with the Democratic Party.
But the average black voter is also more moderate than left-leaning. Black families want the same thing for their
children as do white families. And there
remains a certain distrust in government among black voters that may be as
prevalent as it is among white voters.
Sanders’ supporters are known for being highly critical of the current
administration – possibly remaining unaware of their inner contradiction. That distrust of government does not seem to prevent them from supporting policies that would significantly increase the size
of the government.
So, Joe Biden flourished later in the primaries
because of a more moderate image – probably only somewhat deserved. Despite his occasional verbal gaffs (actually
mild compared to those of President Trump), he represents a more stable
presence with lots of political experience.
Some say a nomination of Biden would be a repeat mistake of 2016 –
brining in another political insider.
Maybe. But Hillary Clinton has
long been a more controversial figure than Biden – both on the right and on the
left. We will find out if Biden’s
critics are right or wrong in November.
And then you have the other major political
party. Whatever else some people think
about our current president, he brings attention upon himself and, at times,
makes us forget there is going to be someone out there challenging him for the
presidency. Unlike Sanders’ voters,
Trump’s loyal following appear to show up at the polls when it matters.
In saying that, nobody should be surprised that the
opinions of partisan voters will vary significantly on how President Trump
handles the entire matter. Still, it is
surprising to me that the press so far has been relatively fair to him. There will always be exceptions. Some writers will never forgive him for
winning the 2016 election. But many
citizens, even though who will probably hold their nose and vote for him in
November, do wish that he’d refrain from off-the-cuff comments that only alarm
observers rather than make them feel more assured.
I don’t think he can help it. Trump will continue stating his opinions
without any factual basis and maybe back-peddle later on – though there’s no
guarantee that he will back down. And it’s
in his nature to gloat. For someone who
never sought political office before running for president, he does it probably
as well as any politician I’ve observed – even if there’s nothing to celebrate. But the old Republican adage persists: “He
may be a jackass, but he’s our jackass!”
That’s why in 2016, the Republican party took the senate, congress and,
of course, the White House.
The toilet paper crisis
I was one of the lucky ones. I walked into a Walmart, met a manager who
was carrying a package of toilet paper torn on one side, and he offered it to
me. And almost immediately upon having
the package in my hand, someone offered to give me cash for the entire
package. I was buying it for someone
else, so I had to disappoint him.
However, I do wish I asked how much he was willing to pay.
We will get through this! There will still be toilet paper when this is
all over!
March 31, 2020
© Robert S.
Miller 2020
