COVID Will Be The Deadliest Event In American History

 

Two events have remained as the deadliest in the course of American history. The Civil War, a bloody conflict in which all fatalities were American, claimed an estimated 650,000 lives, as did the Spanish Flu from 1918-1920. However, despite significant improvements in science, medicine, public sanitation, and global cooperation, it appears that COVID-19, under Donald Trump's casual watch, is poised to surpass these horrific monuments in human suffering as the deadliest event in American history. My prediction is that this pandemic will claim the lives of more than a million Americans, for with another obligatory "despite" improvements in how information is received, or perhaps because of this, Americans have an inflated sense of self-importance and a convoluted belief in their own brand of science rather than that that is offered by, well, scientists.

This is no mere flu: it has already taken 10 times as many lives as an average flu season and it has a fatality rate of 5% globally. Additionally, tens of millions more have been infected. This has caused the largest economic downturn in a decade, with 50 million out of work. The alternative has been reopening with proper social distancing and mask-wearing, and the same Republicans who decried closure as a violation of civil rights are decrying masks as the same, although I do not see them saying the same for seatbelts. To those who claim that the government cannot control health, a one word response should suffice: "Abortion."

The Republicans have taken what should be a matter of common sense and care for fellow humans and turned it into a dangerous partisan game that is costing lives. 100,000 were killed in the first wave, with states drastically underreporting the deaths in some cases, and, as was the case with the Spanish Flu, the second wave is bound to be even deadlier, with more waves headed our way and stubborn folk refusing to listen in order to preserve some perverted sense of pride and independence.

With the economy in shambles, Americans dying, and racial tension higher than it has been since the sixties, any person with common sense would realize the lack of guidance being given by the party in power and vote for change. However, the Republicans are bound to use their favorite tactics of fearmongering and blaming minority groups, a tactic perfected by a certain man in Germany during the Second World War.