NOTES, 4 APRIL 2020
The plague spreads. The night darkens. Sickness and death surround us.
The statistics are grim and frightening and no where in the world is this more true than in our own country. The U.S. has more cases of COVID-19 than any nation by far, three times as many as the point of origin, China, which has three times as many people as the U.S. The rate of the spread in the U.S. is alarming. In the last 48 hours, the death rate in the world was 24% (11,823 deaths) while in the U.S. it was 45% (2,293). At this rate, in the U.S., the number of dead will double about every four days. The death toll now in the U.S. is 7,406.
Figures from individual states are also alarming. In the last two days, SC has jumped 31% in cases and 31% in deaths. This would be a doubling about every three days. In AL, there were 37% more cases and 36% more deaths in the last two days. Again, this would be a doubling about every three days.
If these trends go on as is for the next few weeks, the outcomes will be catastrophic for our states and for our country.
A large part of our problem is the vacuum of leadership in Washington. In the worst national crisis of the past 75 years, the president is missing in action. In fact, one could argue he has made it worse by several crucial mistakes: ignoring the coming pandemic for two months, failure to exert national control of policies, and failure to exert national control over supplies and distribution. As it is, every individual state and local government is on its own bidding against each other for the inadequate store of supplies. The latest small example of Trump's incapacity to direct is his announcement yesterday that he would not be following the CDC guideline on wearing a face mask in public.
Yet, there are heroes arising all around to lead the people in this hour of crisis. The hero of the day yesterday was Captain Crozier, the captain of the aircraft carrier, USS Theodore Roosevelt. A few days ago, he sent a letter to his superiors, and to the press, asking for help for the hundred or so men on board with the virus and the other 4,000 men and women probably exposed to the virus. He was summarily fired by the acting secretary of the navy for not following established procedures (strict chain of command). This is a classic example of institution over people. Watch this video to see the heroic sendoff the entire crew gave the good captain. They knew who was on their side.
In small ways too, people are stepping up to meet the crisis descending on us. Millions of Americans are now out of work, and out of income. Food pantries are in demand. My little town has a food bank which is coming under increasing strain. At my local church, the Daughters of the King keep a free food pantry in the church parking lot:
(Just before I took this picture yesterday, someone had deposited a dozen loaves of bread from Publix.)
The most touching thing about this little pantry is that as word spread around town of its existence, anonymous people, not connected to the church, began secretly depositing non-perishable foods. The Daughters still manage the box but have a lot of help from invisible hands in stocking it. Even so, the food disappears quickly.
It is only a couple of blocks from a public housing project. I am certain that within a couple of hours of this picture, every item here was gone. Usually can be found there: canned meats, canned fruits and vegetables, peanut butter, beef jerky, bread, boxes of pasta, and cereal. This little gesture can mean a lot to people who have no money to buy food.
I think it is imperative that we find creative ways of taking care of each other in this dark hour. We are up to it if we only put our hearts and minds to it. Let's not kid ourselves, we are in a national, indeed worldwide, crisis that is on its way to becoming a catastrophe unlike anything we have seen in our lifetimes. We will get through it, and when it is over, we want to be able to say we behaved as the Christians we claimed to be.
Bear in mind, we are here for the living of this hour. Peace.
