"Masks will not be mandatory for the event, which will be attended by President Trump. PEOPLE ARE FED UP!"
Herman Cain tweet on Wednesday regarding Mt. Rushmore event
Later that day Herman Cain was hospitalized with COVID-19
Patriotism is at a low ebb. Donald Trump is no JFK.
Today is Friday, July 3, a work holiday to make a three day weekend for celebration of American independence. Some people display flags in front of their homes. Some cities will have fireworks. There will be a big celebration at Mt. Rushmore. Trump will attend. Herman Cain will not.
It is a time when some Americans remember the line from John Kennedy's Inauguration, a time when unabashed patriotism seemed inspiring, not goofy. "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."
It seems so very out of fashion a sentiment. Donald Trump bragged that he avoids taxes. "I'm smart." The statement did not stop people from electing him president.
Gallup released a poll with the headline "US National Pride falls to Record Low." It reported people saying they were very or extremely proud to be an American fell from 85% to 63% between 2013 and the present. Republicans expressing strong pride fell from 76% in the early years of Trump's presidency to 67% now.
This first week of July comes at a time when Trump's administration--minus the halfheartedTrump himself--is reversing position on wearing masks. Yes, wear your mask, after all, is the new official word.
 |
| Herman Cain tweet |
For all of April, May, and June Trump signaled that masks were were a political litmus test. Masks were a signal of freedom vs. fear; of a vibrant economy vs. hiding in a bunker; of strong men vs. pencil-neck expert nay sayers like Dr. Fauci, the killjoy. Mask wearers were sheep. Live free.
Herman Cain was on board with that message.
Herman Cain was on board with that message.
Wearing a mask and calling it patriotic was a giant political opportunity for Trump, as this blog noted on June 15: Click: Trump blew an opportunity
Democrats would have hated watching him steal the public health issue from them with something so easy--wearing a mask--while they were stuck arguing about Medicare for All. Supporting mask-wearing would have required Trump to embrace the virus as an enemy to defeat rather than one to minimize. Put a flag on the masks.
His evangelical Christian base might have decided it was love-your-neighbor behavior, patriotic, and pro-Trump all wrapped into one. Perfect! Instead, many took Trump's cue and sued to meet in large groups and defied social distance orders. One church in Oregon created the state's largest cluster of infected people.
Trump took a chance and it might have worked, with the virus going away on its own, leaving primarily his usual opponents as victims: blue state urbanites, immigrants packed into slaughterhouses, poor blacks, and prisoners. Not his base. Now it is the worst outcome: a renewed virus outbreak taking place in red and swing states, and Trump to blame.
Democrats would have hated watching him steal the public health issue from them with something so easy--wearing a mask--while they were stuck arguing about Medicare for All. Supporting mask-wearing would have required Trump to embrace the virus as an enemy to defeat rather than one to minimize. Put a flag on the masks.
His evangelical Christian base might have decided it was love-your-neighbor behavior, patriotic, and pro-Trump all wrapped into one. Perfect! Instead, many took Trump's cue and sued to meet in large groups and defied social distance orders. One church in Oregon created the state's largest cluster of infected people.
 |
The US is conspicuous in comparison with Western Europe with our virus cases on the rise. Voters generally now have absorbed the message that American freedom to ignore masks and social distancing backfired on us. Masks were a price to pay and we didn't pay it. You wear a mask partly to protect yourself and mostly to protect everyone else, and if pretty much everyone were to wear a mask the virus numbers would have gone down, you might not get sick, and Americans would already be back to almost-normal. Instead, America listened to Trump.
Herman Cain is the latest example. Republicans get it, too.
Oregon's governor said masks were required in indoor spaces beginning July 1, and most people are obeying, including at my local grocery store and at the ranch supply store. The my-body-my-choice mask avoiders are being re-positioned in the public mind as threats, not liberty-loving patriots. This is new and it is cause for the question: why didn't Trump nip this virus in the bud like he could have?
That is a question Democrats are asking.
3 comments:
Trump is boxed in by the science denying base, which also has an anti-intellectual component. Some of them simply will do as they are told...put on a mask? OK...and not bother to question why now and not before.
Why didn't they "nip it in the bud?". I see it as a "cascading failure" scenario.
1. Low cases intitially and only in "blue states" (Washington/California/New York)
2. Slow spread into other states
3. FOX news downplaying risks
4. Young people being told they are not at risk or ignoring it.
5. Trump "liberate" tweets and subsequent protests
6. BLM protests further dividing due to white supremacist resistance
7. Red state governors afraid of Trump base
...and around and around we go...
All this is still in motion, with a certain self-reinforcement loop in play.
The question now is can the spread of the epidemic be stopped at all?
Dr. Fauci has destroyed his reputation and credibility by allowing himself to be controlled by Trump. He should resign in protest and speak out as a private citizen. Once again we see a career demolished due to a mistaken sense of indispensability and hubris.
I'm getting emails from friends who are part of Trump's base who are not changing their tune; it's still about "my body, my freedom." These are the same folks that carry signs saying, "Hands off my Medicare" while decrying socialism. There's no reasoning; it's close to a death cult.
This is why I personally like to spend my time working on progressive issues and getting my own party to move to the Left instead of embracing "moderate" ideas in their vain attempt to placate some mythical center.
It's important to go the next step in understanding who has been tested and has COVID. Cain may or may not have caught COVID from the rally. It could also have been any other public contact during other events.
Yes, a missed opportunity by Trump. Simply asking people to wear a mask, and reminding people what they can and cannot do would have been a good thing. He and Pence have finally come around.
Missing from all this is assuming that only Republicans are refusing. There are Democrats, libertarians, and others who aren't.
It's too bad it's become a decisive partisan issue.
What we don't know: what are the actual contributing factors that are responsible for the spike in new cases? There weren't that many people at the Trump rally in Tulsa. ��
Post a Comment