The Endless Pandemic

 Blaine L. Pardoe asks an important question, namely: The Pandemic Endgame-Is There One? It is an important question because there doesn't appear to be on. I stepped into a music store to inquire about music lessons only to discover that one must wear a mask during said lessons. I asked how a trumpeter could play his horn through a mask. I was informed that they have a mask (conveniently for sale) with a hole in it. A hole? And how does that "protect" anyone? The hypocrisy was stunning. Needless to say, I did not take lessons there.

As we all slog into year three of this pandemic and the debates about mandates, masks, and a staggered economy, it feels as if we have lost sight of something important; namely, how does this end? At what point do we all just take a step back and return to some sense of normalcy, i.e., a pre-pandemic state? It’s like a bad TV series that is going on one season too long… you just want it to end.

Early on, back in those bygone days when the media taught us all how to wash our hands, there was talk that we would be able to return to our normal lives. If we had a certain percentage of people vaccinated, or if the infection rates dropped to a certain level, this might be over.

Now those conversations are gone. Also gone is the concept of being done with all this. What we get instead is municipalities demanding that you show proof of your vaccine status to enter businesses, and mask mandates that have no end in sight. There is no longer talk of normalcy at all. There’s talk of a ‘new normal’ which is ill defined but seems to be a state where mask wearing continues indefinitely, as does a never ending array of booster shots. Amazingly people are willing to go along with all this. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t sign up for a new normal. I just want my life back the way it was.

Fauci recently said that we should stay the course for just a few weeks more. Isn't that how all this started? Just two weeks to flatten the curve. Now, two years later, there appears no end in sight. The powers that be have never defined what number of cases, or deaths, or any other statistic, or set of statistics will mean we can get back to normal. And let's be clear, COVID is not the cause of the most deaths in the United States, despite what Geraldo! keeps crying.

There are 2,255,000 deaths every year in the United State. Finding out what percentage of this total COVID represents is a little difficult to find out, but clearly when the total death rate over the last two years is only 875 thousand, there are other reasons people are dying.  Yet people, under the influence of the media's constant drum beat of COVID scare mongering believe that COVID is the only reason that people die.  Yet, as adults, we must weigh the risks from all causes of death and disability to remain as safe as possible, while actually living our lives.  And we must teach this skill to our children.  But at least half of us have delegated this vital task to those in authority.  But our "authorities" have betrayed us.

While normal Americans want the pandemic to end, Democrat polititians, and not a few Republicans, don't want it to end.  If they can keep everyone scared and clamoring for a "savior," they keep themselves in power.

One suspects that the only way we well end the pandemic is if we end some people's seats in Congress and the governor's mansion.