Confronting enemies at home and abroad

Since 9/11 we have been plagued by suicidal enemies. How do we engage religious zealots who are willing to forego this life if they can take some infidels with them? Americans can’t comprehend such selflessness. However, domestic jihadists are emerging under the banner of QAnon lunacy and the stupidity it promotes. They reject the medicine that makes our lives possible, don the suicide vest of the unvaccinated, and proudly send their victims to the ICU.

Schadenfreude might be in order with the number of antimasker/vaxxers who have died from the virus, but that is uncharitable. Still, in nature, stupidity kills. We may be on fire and people are dying, but don’t get all panicky. Go to church, and if the virus spreads there, well, He works in mysterious ways. However, the rest of us may go to the shot clinic. It is a small price to pay for the common good, even if that sentiment rankles the violently misguided.

It is ironic that medical science, in seeking to protect humanity, has been polluted by lunatic views that have created a firestorm of inhumanity. Bulging ER’s mean nothing if they subvert the Trumpist paradigm. Our local council turns its back on the human disaster in our midst, promoting the schism in our city and encouraging the violent mindlessness that costs lives, most recently, at Teichert Ponds. Time to put our heads back where the sun shines.

— Phillip Hemenway, Chico