We politicized a disease. We politicized something that is not suited for political debate. A disease is not a governmental program, a belief, or an idea. It cannot hold an audience or have a constituency, and no one can cast a vote in its name. Yet somehow, we politicized a disease and in doing so, we abandoned our pledge to human decency.
We politicized it for our own self-interest. We politicized it for religious reasons, economic motives, sovereignty, and in some instances, for no other reason than political theatre. The loudest voices were the ones most heard and followed. The angriest and the unapologetic poisoned the dialogue and filled our minds with resentment and distress. We became constitutional scholars and rabid proponents of freedom, and as we spread our uninformed and belligerent opinions, lives were being lost every day to the deadliest public health emergency in over 100 years.
The once sought after benchmark of “flattening the curve” was trampled on by misguided absolutists decrying any form of individual restriction. By polarizing mask wearing and social distancing, we drove progress into the ground and infections to new heights. Nonetheless, we did so without apprehension because we have RIGHTS. This is America after all.
Ironically, in a time of crisis, we are programmed to look to the government to ground us and lead us back to safety, yet it was our government that antagonized us to combat reason and logic. We did their bidding and succumbed to the vitriol spread by so many who put politics before civic duty. We failed to follow the pleas of non-partisan well-credentialed medical professionals begging us to remain disciplined and accountable to each other. In other words, we chose politics and pride over science and morality. After that choice was made, we paired ourselves with those who thought like us and discounted—even derided—those who did not, and we did not stray from our ideological clique.
A vaccine arrived to cure us of the disease, but it did not cure the partisan divide between us. We are in dire need of a great American comeback—the story of a nation that was fiercely divided but overcame its differences to honor those who lost their lives. A comeback born from remembering of our values. Not buzz word values, such as freedom or liberty that have been overused and perverted by individuals seeking the limelight. We must remember and reclaim our humanitarian values: character, compassion, and humility—values accepted and understood by all people, regardless of their native tongue, religion, or creed. We must be gentler, more empathetic, and certainly more devoted to one another. Our strength as a nation stems from our bond as a people.
President John F. Kennedy once spoke of a renewed commitment by the American people, “The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it—and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.” Those words still resonate today. Let us honor the lives lost during the pandemic by focusing our attention on demonstrating dignity and respect for one another, especially towards those who disagree with our own beliefs, and let us do so with a re-inspired commitment.