As not only an American but just as a human being, I’m shocked and dismayed at the path my nation is traveling. It was bad enough when people just whined and traded lawsuits when they didn’t get their way. But now we’re burning cities and killing people. Protestors turned our capitol into a third world city in early January – because things didn’t go their way. Was there corruption involved in the election? Yes, absolutely. Was the violence justified? No it wasn’t. And now politicians and public figures are pointing fingers of blame at each other when all of them share some some measure of responsibility for the chaos.

Who’s to blame? Depends upon who you ask. I’m seeing claims from the right of false flag operations in which Antifa thugs infiltrated the pro-Trump protestors in DC. I’m seeing those on the left trying to lay it all at Trump’s feet, this after leftist protestors burned cities in Minnesota and Oregon. I’m seeing Republicans blaming each other depending upon their stance on Trump’s election loss. On and on and on. Law enforcement is overwhelmed but getting help from the DC National Guard to quell the violence.

“…what we saw in the United States yesterday evening and today shows above all how fragile and vulnerable Western democracy is”
–Iranian President Hassan Rouhani

What to do?
At this point I have no idea. Is this just a phase our culture is going through? Or are we seeing the end of our republic as we knew it? Will all national elections be like the last few in the future? We saw amazingly vulgar rhetoric from the left when G.W. Bush was elected. We saw rampant denialism from the right when Obama was elected. Then we saw shameless violence when Trump was elected. Now the right is behaving like the left did four years ago. Will it ever end? Will civility ever return to the political arena? Every time a new president is elected we see these predictions of doom and gloom from the opposing party. And every time, America just keeps chugging along. It’s a bit worse this time (ok a LOT worse) but I still believe We The People will find enough common ground to preserve our nation.

But meanwhile…
All the while, Americans are being decimated by a deadly virus. And many on the right are still saying it’s a hoax. Los Angeles area ambulance services are being told not to transport people with low survival chances because the hospitals are at or above capacity. Read that last sentence again. People are being left to die because they “probably” will die anyway. Did you ever expect to see such here in the USA? Hospitals, especially out west, are just running our of room. Covid-19 patients are being treated in hallways because there are no rooms left. And there are not enough hospital staffers to properly run facilities and treat patients.

…the pool of available travel nurses is drying up as demand for them jumped to 44% over the last month, with California, Texas, Florida, New York and Minnesota requesting the most extra staff, according to San Diego-based health care staffing firm Aya Healthcare. [see sources]

I see these dumbasses at Walmart and elsewhere walking around with no mask as if hundreds of thousands of Americans haven’t already died. And then they’ll act all surprised when they get sick. Given my own health issues and the virus’s proclivity for killing people with existing problems, it scares the bejabbers out of me to walk out my door. And that really pisses me off.

Will we ever get the upper hand on Covid-19? Will the anti-vaxxers ever accept reality? I doubt it. They’re not that smart.

And what’s causing the current spike in Covid-19 cases? Most health experts agree that it’s mainly due to holiday travel. People who refused to be inconvenienced, who just HAD to go see Aunt Ethel for Thanksgiving or Christmas, are now winding up in hospitals. And they’re putting others in hospitals as well. Americans can be so petty and stupid at times. Apparently the notion that gathering in groups without protection contributes to the spread of the virus is just too complicated for some Americans to understand. If you really are that stupid, then you’re a waste of breathable air. Please stop breathing. Thanks in advance.

Not everyone travels to gather in groups. NYPD busted a number of huge illegal parties during New Years. And of course a lot of churches still pack’em in on Sunday because you know, God ain’t gonna let good Christians get sick. With some people it’s as if they believe the virus will go away if they just ignore it. Sorry, but if you ignore the virus, then YOU will go away. The sad part of that is that you will likely take others with you.

America is in the middle of an epic crash-and-burn. Government can’t stop it. Thoughts and prayers won’t stop it. Only the people can reverse the fatal course we’re following. It’s up to us, and us alone.

Sources and Related Reading

• US hospitals forced to put COVID-19 sick in parking garages, hallways
• Facial recognition firm claims Antifa infiltrated Trump protesters
• LA EMS workers told not to transport patients who likely won’t survive to hospitals
• America’s foes blast US over Capitol Hill violence: A ‘fragmented democracy’
• California becomes ground zero for holiday COVID-19 surge