Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

Republicans around the nation seem to be going all out in an effort to "warn" the public, particularly their supporters over the importance of taking the covid vaccines. It wasn't so long ago when Trump was president, most Republicans followed Trump's lead, as they along with him, downplayed the seriousness of CPVID-19. Even in the face of mounting evidence of a rapidly spreading virus, Republicans along with Trump defied sound medical advice from leading doctors whose specialty was infectious disease control. As more and more people ignored doctors like Anthony Fauci and others, the virus spread, as people became sick by the hundreds, then by the thousands and then the deaths started to pile up. The nation was led by a president who admitted to "downplaying" the virus, who put his own spin on how to confront the virus, even recommending people "ingest" bleach as a means of eradicating the virus. If, that wasn't bad enough, Republicans would talk about their "freedoms" being taken away because of the stringent measures that the CDC wanted to put in place if the nation was going to get any kind of control over the virus. Therein, was probably the beginning of where the nation would find itself after more than 600,000 deaths. In what had should have been a fight to save lives, it was a fight over "personal" freedom which was never the intent of the doctors like Fauci and the CDC. Republicans turned a life/death situation into a "can you trust the government" narrative, as more of their supporters openly continued to follow Trump long after he was voted out of office and turned down by numerous court challenges. The Biden administration began an aggressive campaign to vaccinate 70% of the population by July 4, which got great results. Now, at least 70% of the population has had at least one vaccine shot. Because of that effort, infections fell and deaths declined. So, what do Republicans do? They called for and passed measures in states that they control that would "declare" that the pandemic was over and that the nation could reopen again, to as they said, "to save" the economy. The medical community consisting of infectious disease doctors and hospital administrators were against that because their staff/workers were overwhelmed by the sheer scope of several "surges" that pushed them back two steps for every forward step in the covid war. In an effort to look strong before their supporters (and the next election), many Republicans still defy sound medical advice, even as some are living to regret some decisions, they made in light of rising infections that have gotten out of control.

In some states led by Republicans, there is almost no more ICU beds for newly infected covid patients. One example is in Arkansas, where according to media reports, only 8 such beds in the entire state remain. Arkansas, like many southern states lag under 50% vaccinations as compared to the overall rate nationally which means other states are being more aggressive in vaccinating its citizens. States like Florida and Texas lead the nation in new infections, while their Republican led governors/legislatures continue to reject mask mandates, even as the local communities in those states know that masking helped before. It's sad, but the real losers in all of this, are the people who will get sick and die. School is starting and we are seeing the very young get sick, as they were supposed to be the "wall" that would save us once we reached the so called "herd immunity" stage. Now, they are getting covid. Instead of saying they "are sorry" for watching havoc occur on their watch, they won't admit to the "mistakes" or bad judgments they made. Fall is approaching, schools are opening, football is in the air as the nation goes through another surge. Where we end up, is in God's hands. Remember, the world is watching. So is God.