Bottoms Up America, Who Needs A Drink!

Bottoms Up America, Who Needs A Drink!

A violent earthquake with more than 90 aftershocks combined with hysteria and widespread panic over the coronavirus has hit the state. Who Needs A Drink?!

So, what happens?

State liquor stores will be open fewer hours.

Man, if Utah ever needed a drink, now is the time.

But, for the next couple of weeks, the stores will only be open from noon until 7 p.m.

Although no cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed among those who work for the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, DABC is saying the move was made as a result of staffing shortages during coronavirus restrictions. The DABC also closed many liquor stores following last Wednesday’s earthquake.

I’m sure the elders were pleased, although I guarantee many others who could have used an adult beverage, as they are called, to calm their shattered nerves were not.

And, if you have spent any time in front of the television, watching the bumbling ineptitude of this administration, which would rather pick fights and insult the messenger – in this case the media – or play the “blame Obama” game, you might need a couple of adult beverages. In fact, I might need one before this column is finished. I mean, it’s got to be five o’clock somewhere, right?

Quite frankly, the only good thing to come out of all of this is the fact that the IRS has extended the tax deadline to July 15.

We have also seen the stark differences in the way world leaders deal with COVID-19.
In the United States, the president talked about shipping undocumented immigrants back to their homeland as quickly as possible. His counterpart in Mexico said his country would take care of anybody from anywhere at any time.

Besides, sealing the border at this time is pointless. COVID-19 is real, it is in the United States. Keeping Canadians and Mexicans out will do nothing to change things, although Mexico, which has one of the lowest counts of confirmed cases of the pandemic in the world, might think it advantageous to lock out the Norte Americanos.

There is a moral imperative underscoring all of this, a perspective on humanity that is lacking as the racists and xenophobes elbow their way onto the health platform to justify their hatred, which is why the president is getting away with calling COVID-19 the Chinese Virus.

And, of course, the profiteers are at large as a handful of senators have been found to possibly be engaged in some insider trading on stocks. It is believed they sold millions of dollars of stock market shares before the market tanked in response to COVID-19 based on committee briefings on the progress of the disease.

There is also a plethora of confusion as the man and woman on the street are bombarded with conflicting information.

While other states have basically gone on lockdown Utah remains pretty much open. In fact, the governor rescinded health orders passed in Utah and Salt Lake counties banning gatherings of 10 or more even though most health officials – federal, state, and local – are encouraging social distancing. However, the president has told us to support businesses to keep them afloat. If we are pretty much locked down in, at very least, our most highly populated areas, how can we go to work, spend our money, or keep businesses afloat? And, speaking of money, what happens when it runs out? How long will unemployment payments continue? Who can actually live off of unemployment benefits and for how long? Almost all of us have rent, mortgages, car loans, credit card debt. And, what about utility bills, gasoline, and food?

I can understand some of this confusion because, at a time when we should have some level of confidence in our President, truly need leadership, and when we require compassion; we’re getting none. His credibility is gone as he continues to shoot from the hip and contradicts medical experts and his staff. His leadership is in question. We want strength and confidence, not a continuation of this angry man persona being exhibited by the president.

Look, nobody knows how long this COVID-19 thing is going to last.

There will be a strain placed upon us unequaled, except for maybe the Great Depression, and I don’t know if we have the will to overcome it. The impact will hit us all hard, whether mentally, physically, or financially. How we deal with it is up to us, of course, but now is not the time to engage in petty politics, conduct personal vendettas, or blur the issue.

And, there will be lessons to be learned here, from income disparity and personal equality to a total revamping of the health care system. Hopefully, we will look back at COVID-19 as the trigger that led us to put our priorities in proper order.

But, right now it sucks.

It is inconvenient.

It’s unwieldy.

It is frightening.

It is inconvenient because of the disruption to our daily lifestyles that limit our personal freedoms.

It is unwieldy because the situation is so widespread it is difficult to wrap our minds around it. We cannot relate to something of this scope.

It is frightening because people are dying.

We have not faced a crisis of this proportion in our lifetime.

I only hope we are up to the task.

So barkeep, pour me another… Salud!

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