I usually stay away from political topics, but this shouldn't be political. The nice thing about science is that it's true whether you believe in it or not. We have a diverse and educated (or at least trained) society; we actually have experts to rely on. Pros, aces, specialists. You don't cut your own hair; you don't do your own wiring; you don't do surgery on yourself. Most of us don't even make our own pizza crusts. And of course, only fools represent themselves in court.
I'm having a hard time trying to feel patriotic this weekend, the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Here's why: We Americans are doing much, much worse to our country than bin Laden and those other terrorists ever did.
On September 11, 2001, the terrorist attacks killed 2,977 people (the people on the planes, including the terrorists, plus the deaths in the World Trade Center buildings and surrounding area, plus ones who died at the Pentagon). (The number is from Wikipedia, which I don't think is a very controversial source.)
In addition to the deaths, more than 6,000 people were injured that day.
That makes a total of (more than) 8,977 killed or injured in the 9/11 attacks.
Meanwhile, as of today's Google search, 661,000 Americans have died as a result of COVID-19, and 41.1 million Americans have been infected (that they know of; you know there are plenty of infections that go unreported, so they have to make an estimate). (So far in Missouri, there have been 11,574 deaths from COVID, and 804,000 cases.)
The number of people killed as a result of 9/11 is a mere, mere, 0.45 percent of the number of Americans who have died from COVID. A drop in the bucket. Why are we all sniffling and saying "never forget!" about 9/11, when COVID is ravaging us far, far worse? Is is that the people in 9/11 mostly died suddenly, in a spectacular fashion? Is it that the people who died in 9/11 were the victims of a malicious attack?
With COVID, our nation has been averaging more than a thousand deaths per day, since late February 2020. Why are COVID death numbers a nebulous "thoughts and prayers" concept for so many, fodder for whacko-conspiracy, anti-science people to argue about? Why are these anti-vaccination, anti-science, anti-doctor people so often wavers of US flags and Bible-boppers, uber-patriots, who claim they'd do anything for our country? Do they simply not care about other Americans, including their elders who are more vulnerable to the disease? And why can't they see their spineless political leaders are simply telling them what they want to hear, just so they can get reelected in red states, even though it's causing death and suffering on a scale 222 times as bad as that of 9/11? . . . And counting.
Osama bin Laden was malicious, all right, but what do you call politicians who work to prevent local governments from implementing mask mandates that will save the lives of Americans? Especially when the same politicians insist that regulations of that sort should be left to local governments? "Hypocrites" is the nicest thing I can think of. "Enemies-from-within" seems a fairer assessment.
Can't these people count higher than 2,977? Maybe they didn't get past simple addition: You need to multiply 2,977 by 222 to get close to the number of Americans killed by COVID (so far). . . . That's 222 9/11s, just in terms of deaths.
And we're not even talking about long-COVID; it's such a new disease, no one really knows how people who have been infected by COVID will fare in the future. I wouldn't be surprised if a high percentage of them end up with COPD or cardiac disease in future decades.
We go on and on about the heroic 9/11 emergency responders, especially the firefighters, who died, or managed to survive, while doing their duty. And I agree; they were heroes. . . . But I also think we should offer the same thanks and reverence to the doctors, nurses, and countless hospital workers who have put their lives on the line every day helping people with COVID.
What's going on with COVID--with coughing, gasping anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers filling up the hospital ERs and cardiac units--is akin to a bunch of people all running right back into the Twin Towers after having been escorted safely out. Early COVID deaths, before the vaccine, were bad enough, but at this point--with plenty of evidence showing that the vaccine prevents COVID hospitalizations and deaths--how can an anti-vaccine person look a medical provider in the eye, when he shows up in an ER with COVID? "Help me, I can't breathe." It's like slapping a firefighter in the face and marching right back into that burning building.
So, is the risk, pain, and toil of our healthcare workers not as dramatic as the firefighters marching up the stairs of a multistory building destined to fall? Think of the numbers, the daily grind, the day after day of intubations, changing of bed linens, IV drips, oxygen feeds, heart monitors, the difficult conversations with family, the hand-holding (through gloves), the sad news, the body bags. Trying to find open beds in the region for people who need hospital care, when your hospital is full. And worrying about carrying this damn disease home to family.
We've seen too many action movies, perhaps. If the building isn't on fire and ready to collapse, then it's not really an emergency--is that it?
If people really want the economy to come back, they should get vaccinated and wear masks until we get this deadly communicable disease under control.
If people really respect and love their elders, and their families, their communities, their schools, their churches, they should get vaccinated and wear masks until we get this deadly communicable disease under control.
If people really love our country, they should get vaccinated and wear masks until we get this deadly communicable disease under control.
Until we get this deadly communicable disease under control . . . I really don't want to hear any more pious BS about 9/11.
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