Failure to mobilize is a national disgrace
In World War II, 407,316 U.S. service personnel died, which translates to an average of 220 per day, and nearly 6,600 every month of the war.
Men fought; women worked in factories; children planted victory gardens; we endured years of rationing.
Just under 3,000 people died on 9/11. We stood proudly, accepted air travel restrictions and other security efforts, and stopped other terrorist plots.
In the span of five months, 346 people were killed in two crashes of the Boeing 737 Max.
To save lives, the U.S. government grounded all 737 Max planes at enormous cost to airlines and Boeing.
America has lost at least 3,000 people a week from COVID-19 with most weeks topping 6,000, and several weeks topping 15,000. Kern County has lost more than 450.
At least one current forecast is for over 511,000 Americans to die by the end of February.
Americans die from COVID at a rate double or more of that of World War II service deaths.
More Americans die every week from COVID than died in the 9/11 attacks. More people have died in Kern County from COVID than died on the 737 Max planes.
The consequences for our medical infrastructure, first responders, and even those who seemingly recover are dire. We mobilized in 1941. We mobilized in 2001.
The failure to mobilize in 2020 is a national disgrace.
“It is what it is,” “It’s no worse than the flu — it’s just a virus,” or, my personal favorite, “If I get sick, it’s no big deal; it’s my body so I’ll do what I want.” It is what it is until someone you love dies. It is far worse than the flu and it is not “just a virus.”
Flu deaths average between 12,000 and 61,000 each year. We have had over 279,000 deaths from COVID since March. If you want to drink yourself to death, go for it — just do not drink and drive.
The government can control your behavior for the greater good of health and safety.
Just try walking around without pants.
Apply that same rule to masks. But where is the national pride we demonstrated after 9/11?
Where is the collective fighting spirit we demonstrated in the ’40s? It is lost in the vacuum of national leadership created by this administration and our Congress.
It takes true leadership to create the pride and spirit we need to win this war and in the absence of it, we must call on each other despite our bitter partisanship.
Our grandparents accepted the sacrifices necessary in the ’40s — they did not like it and many questioned whether we should be in the war at all. But the greatest generation prevailed. This generation must now rise to the occasion.
Stop thinking only of yourself and think of those around you. Think of the greater good.
Please accept the short-term, personal sacrifice — what we are enduring is nothing like what our grandparents endured during World War II. I would love to have dinner with friends, work from my office rather than my home, and have my hair cut.
But about 80 percent of us must take a vaccine to create herd immunity and to return us to some semblance of normalcy.
We have another long six months to go before a vaccine will be available to all.
And that vaccine?
Unless your doctor tells you that you should not — take it. It is the patriotic thing to do.
Do your part to slow the spread: wear a mask, keep your distance, wash your hands, stay home.
Then, take the vaccine when you have the green light to get in line for it. I will see you there.