Separating COVID and Politics

Separating COVID and Politics

– By Ed Kociela –

I got a telephone call from a longtime friend recently,  a guy I’ve known more than 25 years who was stressed to the max.

A dyed-in-the-wool conservative from the Midwest — yes, it is possible for conservatives and liberals to remain friends — he was angry, confused, frustrated. This COVID thing had gotten to him in a bad way. No, he hadn’t been diagnosed with the disease, his family and friends remained healthy, and he was pretty much going about his life. But, he had just hung up the phone after a conversation with his mother, who reminded him that 2022 was his turn to get on an airplane and visit her in the Pacific Northwest.

“You know what that means, don’t you?” he asked me. I knew, but held my tongue to allow him to vent, which he did, with some choice expletives about Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, the House, the Senate, and, of course, COVID. “To go see my Mom, I’ve got to go get that damned shot!” he said, summing up his anger.

“Yeah…I guess so,” I said, which provoked another round of expletives that underscored his complete and total disdain for the government and its various members. “But, take a deep breath, step back, and think in a little different way.”
I explained that even though I am a card-carrying liberal and make no bones about it, there are still times when I get angry and frustrated with Biden, Pelosi, and all of the others elected to represent us in Washington, D.C. I explained that even with Congressional majorities, I am often disappointed at what is taking place along The Beltway. And, I also explained how I, too, hate being under the government’s thumb, even when they happen to be right when it comes to masks, social distancing, and vaccinations. “Even a blind pig can find an acorn now and then,” I explained.

“And, we’ve got plenty pigs back there feedin’ at the trough,” my friend said.

I told my friend that although it might be easy to lump all of his anger and frustration into one huge, explosive ball, it really isn’t fair, that government dysfunction and the COVID pandemic are two, distinctly separate things, that it is OK to be angry about the government and that he has every right to be angry about the pandemic, but that despite his feelings, he shouldn’t link them, that getting a shot and wearing a mask is not succumbing to the government, but taking care of family, friends, neighbors and a world that has already seen too much suffering.

“If the religious right was truly religious and truly right, those folks would be rushing to embrace all COVID protocols, from masking to practicing good hygiene and getting vaccinated,” I said. “Politics is politics and that world is more often than not messy, ugly, and vicious. Fighting a pandemic is quite another thing. Don’t lump them together regardless of what Tucker Carlson or Sean Hannity say.”

This all took place, of course, well before the latest COVID variant — something they are calling Omicron — emerged.

Several nations are jumping into full prevent mode, closing borders to visitors from certain nations where Omicron is developing. But, you can be sure that at some point this variant will move on to Europe and the Americas. By taking strict measures now, we may be able to prevent the rampant outbreaks that saw so many lose their lives. If that means temporary lockdowns or closures, so be it. Had we shut it all down earlier a couple of years back we could have saved more lives, the economy would not have taken such a tragic dump, and we would be in much better shape today. I just hope those lessons were learned as we move into this latest round of COVID invasion. But, mostly I hope we have learned that lives are infinitely more important than the stock market. We can always recover from a bad economy, even if it is painful, but we cannot bring the dead back to life.

My friend, like many people, understands these things, I think, but the thing is, like most of us, we just want this COVID stuff to be over, out of our lives, a sad piece of history. We would like to retire our masks, to put away the sanitizer that seems to eat up our hands, to go out freely and mingle in our community without fear of being infected with something that has the potential to kill us. That remains an awful shadow still cast over us all. Even though we are more mobile, more social, a little more comfortable now that the sensible among us have been vaccinated, there is still that thing hanging over all of us that we just cannot seem to shake. And, we are all angry that almost two years of living was put on the shelf as we muddled through the misery.

Yes, I agree that I don’t like being told where I can and cannot go and all that social distancing business. But, I understand there is good reason for it. I do not believe that it is all a scam, that it is simply a way for the government to exert added pressure to control us because, well, what have they got to gain by doing that? Nothing. I mean, if the government was truly up to something don’t you think it would find a way to get the positive buy-in of the people rather than simply tick them off?

I’ve had enough of leaders from both sides of the aisle. I am not satisfied with either party as they stand at the moment. But, those are entirely different issues that in no way should be tied into how I feel about the measures being taken to combat COVID.

My friend, after a nice long chat, came to agree.

Oh, he still hates the House, Senate, Pelosi, and Biden.

But, in the end it really turned into a simple thing: How badly does he want to see his Mom?

In the end, after all the angst and anger, he rolled up his sleeve and took the shot and I am proud of him.

It was the right thing to do.

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