As I sip my fresh java this morning, I am puzzled by the Coronavirus minimalists.
Worldwide we have lost over 500,000 lives and in the U.S. we are over 128,000 deaths and climbing. Some of the minimalists I know say this is a very low percentage of the population so we may be overreacting. I suspect some of these apologists are probably part of the current administration in Washington trying to justify their lack of urgency and proactive programs or perhaps some are young and healthy and have few underlying health issues, including old age.
To keep this in perspective, in Vietnam we lost 58,220 in over 10 years of the conflict. In the Korean war we lost 33,000 military in three years of the war. In the 9/11 attack on the U.S. we lost 2,977 citizens. In total that accounts for almost 90,000 American lives lost. Fast forward to 2020, and we see In a matter of 4 months time, we have already lost 42% more, in total, than the tragic events noted above which, collectively, occurred over a span of 13 years.
During Vietnam we agonized over the nightly news as the flag draped coffins were unloaded in the Military mortuary at Dover AFB. Ultimately, tens of thousands demonstrated in the streets to end the senseless killing of our young soldiers. Korea, although less visible on the tail of WWII, resulted in similar pleas to get out of another senseless war. We have built monuments and tributes all over the country to the soldiers who gave their lives to these events. After 9/11 we invaded Afghanistan and, oh by the way, are still paying with American lives over 20 years later.
So, I say to the minimalists, 128,000 lives is a tragedy of monumental proportions that doesn't need to be minimized because you have to wear a mask to go shopping or sit too far from your dinner companion. I expect we will not build a Coronavirus monument in DC to the family members we lost, although we sure as hell should for the medical workers who were on the line every day. They deserve the same recognition as the soldiers who also put their lives out there for their fellow citizens. Time to ring the chimes of the minimalists in Washington to address this situation as the tragedy history will show to have been.
On that note, I am brewing more coffee.