By Edwin Cooney
We may not realize it yet, but you and I are about to be called “soldiers.” That is, soldiers in the greatest war in all of American history. Our Commander-in-Chief, President Donald John Trump, will both command and guide you and me through this pandemic with determination, creative genius, vision and, above all, patriotism.
As of Monday, May 11th, 2020, there were a total of 1,347,936 cases of COVID-19 in the United States thus victimizing 0.4 per cent of the population. The death toll from this disease as of the same date was 80,684 or 0.02 percent of the population. With practically every state taking steps to reopen part of their economic and social structure, the debate between cautious and daring citizens grows more bitter and intense practically every day.
Last year, we celebrated the 75th anniversary of D-Day when, under Commander-in-Chief Franklin Delano Roosevelt, we invaded "fortress Europe” which was under the domination of Adolf Hitler. FDR led this "crusade" with the support of men named George Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, George Patten and others who consulted and commanded us to victory.
Today's enemy, the Coronavirus, is unlike a human opponent. As Columnist Tom Friedman put it in The New York Times, a disease, unlike a human, cannot be shamed, weakened by a strategically divided attack, or declared defeated by an angry, disgusted, worn-out society demanding normality.
Meanwhile, the argument goes on. One writer to the Times insists that a less than cautious opening of the economy would be like taking your car to a dealer to have your braking system fixed only to be told that they have never seen a problem like yours and lack the parts to repair your brakes. They also tell you that they haven't even taken your car for a test drive. So, when they return the keys, you must decide: should I load the family into the car and drive it full speed down the hill or should I do something perhaps more costly or long term to ensure my family’s safety?
Another argument insists that you have no right to endanger the economy by your withdrawal from participating in it, either as a producer or a customer.
Still another argument says that while you have the right to work, you don't have the right as a worker to mingle amongst others, catch the disease, and pass it on to even more people.
Meanwhile, at National Headquarters (1600 Pennsylvania Avenue), COVID-19 or Coronavirus (take your pick) is on the attack against the President's staff. Additionally, holes are rapidly appearing in the President's social and political defense barrier.
Back in early April, on several occasions, President Trump stated that he was about to make the most important decision of his political career. At first, he asserted that everyone ought to be packed into churches on Easter Sunday (April 12th). Then, the President was compelled to back off. Now, a month later, he's actively pressing most states to open up and take on the economic and medical fight against the disease. Hence, for better or worse, here's what I'm guessing will happen.
On Saturday, June 6th, 2020, the 76th anniversary of our invasion of Europe, Commander-In-Chief Trump may well ask you and me to be soldiers much as our fathers and grandfathers were when they dared to invade Europe. President Trump may insist (as President Eisenhower did in his first Inaugural address) that "we must dare all for our country!" The D-Day invasion, which was a specific military operation, lasted from June to August of 1944 and cost us around 226,000 soldiers. That was about 0.1738 percent of our then population of about 130 million people. If we were to sacrifice only one percent of our 330,000,000 present-day population, would that be a justifiable number of people to sufficiently immunize America before we return to work? (One percent of 330,000,000 people is 3,300,000.)
The trouble with numbers and percentages is that they totally lack essential depth to adequately put into perspective the severity of this disease. Unfortunately, too many people dismiss the gravity of COVID-19 by insisting that "it's just the flu!” Since they've never experienced the Coronavirus, they can't sufficiently grasp the sense of gasping, struggling strangulation, and constant pain of this disease. They can therefore easily suggest that since only 0.02 percent of the people have been fatally stricken, if they would simply open everything up, we would all soon be protected through national “herd immunity!”
It's my guess that thinking like this will give President Trump the impetus to emphasize his legal status and cultural position as Commander-In-Chief of a people at war. Of course, real armies have yet to ever be victorious over a disease. However, modern Americans have often been rather erroneously aroused by calls to war by the leadership of both political parties. Johnson asked for a war on poverty, Nixon asked for a war on crime, Ford asked for a war against inflation, and both President and Mrs. Reagan declared war on drugs. All of the above are manmade entities. Disease, on the other hand, is a child of nature and nature has always been, to this very day, immune to military hardware.
As misleading as such a call would be, I'm convinced that many Americans may be sufficiently flattered by our Commander-In-Chief's call to be an American soldier against this “Chinese-made” pandemic! President Trump might well reason that since Americans in 1944 dared to take an even higher risk, shouldn't we be at least half as dedicated to making America safe and “great again” for everyone's economic and patriotic fulfillment?
A call to war is, traditionally, a president’s call for support. For the period of time between now and the presidential election (which is just five months and fifteen days away), such a call might do nicely for Commander-in-Chief Trump.
Let's all hope I'm wrong about such an appeal, because I don't think America can safely afford my being right in this instance!
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
EDWIN COONEY
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