I mention this to emphasize that COVID respects no one. It can kill or make seriously ill anyone no matter how devout or altruistic. There are very few people in Chicago that are as devout as Rabbi Zucker. He is a role model of Emes and Emunah. He survived. But others of similar stature did not. Rabbi Ya’akov Perlow comes to mind.
I mention this because the pandemic is still here and breaking records. Not in a positive way. CBS reported this morning that more people are hospitalized now with COVID than ever. And yet the American people are so tired of wearing masks and observing other mitigation protocols, that a lot of us are just throwing caution to the wind.
Under normal circumstances this would not be a problem. It’s a free country. People can do whatever they want including risking their lives even if out of mere fatigue. But what makes this different is that the precautions they are abandoning are not only to protect themselves. They are there to protect others.
That you don’t want to wear a mask anymore means that I have to suffer because of it. And that takes your choice out of the realm of freedom and into the realm of possibly harming others. Which makes you a self centered individual that cares only about yourself. That you might argue that the dangers are overblown doesn’t mean that it’s true. All it means is that you believe the only opinion that matters is your own.
Last Friday morning I experienced that kind of self-centered attitude when a respected Chabad Rabbi in Chicago violated the mitigation rules issued by the Shul in which I Daven Shachris. He entered the shul, sat down, and removed his mask. There are signs posted all over the Shul that masks must be worn at all times during all Minyanim. But I guess his personal comfort meant more to him than the rules or the concern others might have - which he apparently dismisses.
I have lost all respect I once had for that individual. He isn’t comfortable wearing a mask? Well then he ought to stay home!
As noted people are getting sick and being hospitalized in record numbers. And with all the crowding that happened over the Thanksgiving day weekend – predictions are that we will have a spike of epic proportions –a surge on top of a surge - in a week or two. Which will surely be compounded at the end of next month when we have a repeat of that.
Meanwhile there are some other disturbing things happening because of this pandemic. In many ways it has exposed some uncomfortable truths about ourselves. Not only has the altruism in some people been found to be only on the surface (as with the abovementioned Chabad Rabbi)... it has also increased the incidence of divorce. Underlying issues between married couples were exacerbated by being forced to live with each other 24/7.
There have been incidents between mask wearers and non mask wearers that range from shouting matches to physical altercations. People that used to get along with each other quite nicely are in some cases not speaking to each other anymore because of these disagreements.
In the religious realm the fact that young people that might be at risk for going OTD, have had that option accelerated for them. As an article in the Times of Israel indicates.
And that doesn’t even touch the massive number of people unable to pay for basics like food after losing their jobs. It is almost shocking to see long lines of cars – some of them luxury SUVs - waiting to get a free food package.
But even with all of this going on -as noted in a earlier post - there is light at the end of the tunnel. Vaccines that are about to be approved by the FDA are been produced at break neck speeds.
Operation Warp Speed seems to be fulfilling its promise. The Trump administration ordered millions of doses to be produced in anticipation that they would be effective so that they will be ready for distribution quickly the moment they are approved by the FDA. That gamble has paid off. Actual vaccinations should begin before the end of the year. All while pharma keeps producing and distributing them. Operation Warp Speed has been set up to maximum efficiency. Well planned long before the first volunteer in the first clinical trial was inoculated. And by all accounts it will be executed with precision.
I know that the President has been criticized for his approach to the pandemic. And with good reason. His attitude has been less than stellar to say the least. But one things is clear. The President’s focus on a vaccine is what got us to this stage. All the doomsayers that said that the Presidents prediction of having a vaccine by the end of the year was a virtual impossibility - have been proven wrong. All those negative predictions did was discredit the President even on the one thing he did right. Which may be the most important thing anyone has done with respect to this pandemic.
It is so revealing that all the talk going on now about how quick and efficient the federal government has been in this respect fails to mention that the federal government is the one over which the current President presides. Opration Warp Speed belongs to him and to the efforts expended by his administration to get the job done.
I’m sure all the Trump haters will deny any credit to the Trump administration. But that just shows their personal biases.
I will repeat my own views about the President. He is a narcissist that puts himself first. I think Jonathan Rosenblum got it right in this week’s Mishpacha Magazine column. Trump sees people as either for him or against him. In that respect he is truly color blind.
Despite all the policies he implemented that I believe were great for this country and Israel, by virtue of his all his many negatives (not the least of which is the terrible way he is behaving now in denying the results of the election) he deserved the repudiation he got at the polls.
But as I repeatedly say. The truth needs to be told. One must give credit were credit is due. And with respect to seeing the pandemic actually end, the President deserves major credit. Something that I believe will be impossible for some people to do as they will continue to bash him in every respect.