Please Let This National Nightmare End And Give Us A Hopeful Holiday Season

To the Editor:

As I sit here a week before Thanksgiving, I wonder if there is anything to be thankful for regarding our country’s current political and societal situation. There is fantastic news of the possibility of numerous COVID-19 vaccines in the pipeline for delivery in 2021. A light at the end of the tunnel is overshadowed by the daily death toll of more than a thousand Americans and over a quarter-million cumulative pandemic deaths. While test results in some areas are approaching 50 percent positive, we are still debating mask use and Thanksgiving gatherings. Why are we still divided on basic actions to increase the survivability and control the spread of this deadly disease? Science has told us that areas where mask use is the norm are the places that have a much lower spread of the virus. Will holiday activities mean that there are many fewer people to greet a hopefully better New Year of 2021?

The election is over! It’s time to pass the torch and allow the incoming administration to get started working on the pressing health and economic pains it will face in January. Every day we lose at this critical juncture will result in the death of more than a thousand Americans and delay the distribution and effectiveness of the promising vaccines. The complete disregard for the health and well-being of the public by the lame-duck administration is tantamount to mass murder. Mask use alone could save tens of thousands of lives in the coming weeks. Herd immunity is a myth which requires an infection rate of 80-percent-plus of the population or the vaccination of 80-percent-plus the entire population. The latter is preferable, but best case scenarios reveal that it will not be attainable unless the people overwhelmingly participate and it will not be reached until late next year. We need an engaged response on the national level and leadership from the top. Senate Republicans are ignoring the need for widespread economic relief and are squandering valuable time on political and judicial appointments to further inhibit the incoming administration’s possible success. The humanitarian crises of hunger, evictions, high unemployment, and the pandemic need to be addressed immediately. Many families will have the darkest Holiday Season this year!

I know everyone is tired of the isolation and restrictions we need to protect us. Giving in or checking out is not what Americans do. We have overcome many challenges in our history with far fewer tools that we have today at our disposal to combat this national dilemma. What we lack that previous generations had is a commitment to the common good and rejection of partisan divisions in the face of a national crisis. True patriotism is not narcissistic or tribal in nature. It requires acceptance of universal freedom and a national purpose for the good of all. We are at a critical crossroad in our society. Will we give in to petty divisions or embrace our historical unity? I, for one, hope it’s the latter!

Glen Dick

Originally from Claysburg and now lives in the state of California