POLITICS
People, Politics, and a Pandemic
Wyatt Earp rides again
“It goes through air, Bob. That’s always tougher than the touch. You know, the touch, you don’t have to touch things, right? But the air, you just breathe the air, and that’s how it’s passed. And so that’s a very tricky one, that’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than your — you know, your, even your strenuous flus. … This is more deadly. This is five per — you know, this is five percent versus one percent and less than one percent. You know? So this is deadly stuff.- Donald Trump on COVID-19 with journalist Bob Woodward.
And so it was. Whether this was a soul-cleansing confession or just the unbridled ramblings of a narcissistic would-be strongman, believing himself above reproach, Donald Trump set a stage that polarized an already-divided nation over one of the most serious health crises in modern history — and America will never be the same again.
Nearly a year and almost a half-million deaths later, people are still at odds over the seriousness of SARS-CoV-2, otherwise known as COVID-19. As a purveyor of nearly all things sci-fi, I’ve seen more than my share of post-apocalyptic Earth scenarios but I must admit that no dystopic screenplay could have prepared me for the reality of the coronavirus pandemic.
