Power of Ten
Memorial Day — a time to remember and celebrate those who have made the ultimate sacrifice of their life in pursuit of ensuring the best chance of liberty and freedom in the world. It’s a day to thank the members of our armed forces. A time to remember our family and friends who gave their lives in service.
On this Memorial Day, I woke up musing on the power of ten. The exponential experience that we are all currently at war with. The sheer volume of loss and death.
On January 22, 2020 our President told the people in the United States in an interview with CNBC that “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.” And, on February 10 he assured us that it “Looks like by April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away.” Today, the New York Times covers it’s front page with 1,000 death notices as we cross the threshold to 100,000 deaths in the United States. And, CNBC reports on the 1,000,000 cases of Covid-19 in the United States alone.
Today, 100,000 people dead in the United States. 295.22 deaths per million. Lost to a virus we have yet to battle into submission — literally at war with.
We went from 1 to 1,000,000 in literally the blink of an eye. We’ve nearly doubled our losses on a per capita basis compared to deaths in the Vietnam War and are just about on par with both the 1958 and 1969 flu pandemics and deaths from WWI.
I spent today trying to make sense and find some perspective. The loss is real and massive and awful. I have faith that we will find solutions and that there will be an answer but I fear our flirtation with the next power of ten.
To all that have given their lives in pursuit of liberty and freedom around the world — I thank you and your families for such selfless service. For each person who has lost their life, and each person in their orbit, in this global pandemic — I am deeply saddened.
