A reminder: We are one nation

In the days after the terror attacks on 9/11, the warring factions in this country came together with an admirable and not entirely expected desire to weather the storm. Although it didn’t last very long, people of different political philosophies, creeds, races, genders and all of the other epidermal markers that separate us into “this” or “that” were able to see themselves as victims of a common threat, survivors of a shared tragedy. It was a beautiful moment.

Fast forward nineteen years. The threat is different in nature, but not in severity. It targets indiscriminately, and carries no inherent message other than “humans are vulnerable creatures.” Americans are not alone in our victimhood, nor are we alone in our attempts to deal with the crisis. The “coronavirus,” COVID-19, comes for each of us. Of course, some are more susceptible than others. The elderly, and those with preexisting immunodeficiency or respiratory problems, run a significantly greater risk of becoming fatalities if infected with the virus.

But no one is immune, despite some urban legends about various ethnicities being less likely to contract COVID-19 than others.

And since we are facing this together, as we faced attacks of September 11th, you would think that we could put aside the more partisan aspects of our nature. It stands to reason that when we are facing an enemy that doesn’t care about our political affiliation, that affiliation would become irrelevant. And we would, then, join (thoroughly washed and disinfected) hands across the divide.

And of course, that hasn’t happened. Perhaps it is naïve to expect that the toxicity and hostility engendered by three and a half years of the Trump administration would evaporate into the same transparent air that carries the virus. It might be foolish to believe that Americans would be able to forget the recent history of impeachment and Mueller and kids in cages and Muslim bans, and for the next few moments focus on how to survive in the biological maelstrom.

Instead, people are using this pandemic, weaponizing it for political or tactical advantage. Liberals, who have most recently been divided by the multiplicity of opinions on who should be the nominee, seem to be acting with a united front in trying to blame Donald Trump for the mess. While there are legitimate grounds to criticize the initially lethargic response to the crisis and the tone of “don’t worry, be happy” assumed in White House communications, it is equally legitimate to call out the Democrats for laying the blame at the feet of this president.

While conservatives, and the president, were wrong to blame the Obama administration for not responding immediately and effectively to the swine flu epidemic a decade ago, it is interesting how so many in the media snapped into action to rebut the claims. Of course it’s never wrong to set the record straight, but the speed and passion with which so many reacted to Trump’s incomplete (but not entirely incorrect) allegations that the prior administration had made it difficult to ship and make available test kits to the general public gives rise to the impression that the president has a target on his back, and it’s not simply because of dissatisfaction with his job performance.

There has also been some unseemly commentary from the left that leads you to believe that the chaos on Wall Street and the disruption of the airline, sports, entertainment and hospitality industries is welcome if it guarantees a Trump loss in November.

The point is this: Some are dying, many more are terrified at the prospect. This is a serious threat that touches everyone, regardless of what it says on their voter registration card.

We will never fully get beyond our tribal instincts. It is baked into the DNA, and it’s not surprising that a president as partisan as this one would cause a chain reaction of both support in those who identify with his agenda and character, and condemnation in those who reject the man and his mission.

But at least in the darkest of moments, we should be able to set aside these ultimately petty and epidermal differences if only to remind ourselves that we are, indeed, one nation, under God, indivisible.

And under assault.