“Do Nothing Until You Hear From Me, And You Never Will” – Duke Ellington
It is patently obvious that America is screwing up royally on the COVID-19 plague. Essentially the leadership, whether it be de Blasio, Cuomo, or especially Trump himself have profits and business foremost on their minds. Our NY leaders might sound better than the President, but their intentions are not so far apart from the chief buffoon. It’s not too hard to sound smarter and more sophisticated or caring than Trump.
Here is the conundrum that none of these people seem to be able to answer. Should we risk going to work (if we are lucky enough to still have jobs), or listen to the health experts who say that the trains, the streets, the office, the shops, wherever the dangerous places are to bugger around in, are off limits? Who are we going to believe in, the docs or the pols?
That’s a no brainer. But it still doesn’t answer what happens to those of us who face unemployment because a leader says it is okay to go back to work and we don’t think that’s a wise choice. Who gets fucked then, them or us? The liberals punt the idea of opening up as much as the conservatives do. It is necessary according to both sides. They are worried about the machine chugging along. If it doesn’t, their elections might become irrelevant.
We have to deal with this health crisis on our own. We cannot trust the Mayors, Governors, Senators, Congress people or those in the big mansion. Some might be better than others. The medical bigwigs tell us what we should do. I don’t have any faith in the ones who speak on the same platform as Trump. The sainted Dr. Faucci is in the pocket of Gilead, the Donald Rumsfeld pharmaceutical corporation. The woman Doctor Birx sounds like a Trump stooge. My army dentist, a butcher, was more reliable than she might ever be.
Both Bill de Blasio and Andrew Cuomo make the Trump crowd look like incompetent idiots, which they are. The NY big shots’ regular press conferences are worth watching because the information is somewhat pertinent. The White House equivalents are in the absurd sick humor realm.
None of these observations really help us. ‘Cos we already know them We are mostly not medically astute people. We do what we think is right, what we believe to be socially responsible. No boss has to tell us this. Those that ignore common sense become nothing more than a problem, what the ancient Roman Senate used to refer to as the mob. There is nothing elitist intended here. Stupid does as stupid is.
Capitalism affords us little chance or choice. We are necessary or expendable, depending on the needs of those in charge. If we survive this atrocity, it will be due to our own fortitude. We won’t have them to thank for our lives. This is one of our moments in America. These circumstances don’t come around too often. I believe we can do the right thing, despite their nonsense. We have to. Duke Ellington was right.