President and ordinary citizens must step up

I want to begin this piece by bringing to mind the Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Many of us have driven past it on our way to the Mall of America, and many out-of-state students have driven past it after leaving the airport. It is a humbling and solemn sight, with over 180 thousand soldiers buried within those grounds, a sea of stone. Most of those graves are filled with soldiers who served honorably, true patriots. It’s a bittersweet sight, but not tragic as most of those soldiers died in their homeland after performing a great service for their country.

What is tragic is the fact that you could fill each of those graves with a U.S, citizen who succumbed to COVID-19 and still have about 20 thousand left unburied. In eight months, 200 thousand people died, while it took 150 years for the Cemetery’s graves to number 180 thousand. There still isn’t any end in sight. According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, despite top tier medical technology, the United States leads the world in COVID-19 deaths.

Why do we lead the world in COVID-19 deaths? We have all failed to step up during this time of crisis; from the President all the way to ordinary citizens, we have not done enough. The President was caught on tape admitting that he was aware of the severity of the coronavirus, yet he took a hands-off approach. He didn’t implement a universal and cohesive strategy and instead left it to the states to figure it out for themselves instead of leading in a time of crisis. Various state government officials have followed the President’s ineffective example and have failed their people.

While many of our leaders didn’t do their duty, we are all ultimately to blame because we have failed to pick up their slack. Many citizens have bristled at mask mandates saying that it’s an infringement of their rights, and many have doubted the ability of masks to block transmission. On the former, rights can be and must be stripped in times of crisis. During World War II men were conscripted, forced to fight and die for democracy to triumph over fascism. On the latter, NYC and Japan have similar populations but drastically different fatality rates; with NYC having over 23,000 deaths and Japan only having about 390. In Japan, you’re expected to wear a mask even for ailments as minor as the common cold. Dr. Robert Redfield, the current director of the CDC, said that masks are more important than a vaccine.

When I think of the Fort Snelling Cemetery, I believe all those soldiers are rolling in their graves. They’ve given their limbs, their peace of mind and some have even made the ultimate sacrifice, all for the good of their country, and we are tarnishing that legacy in our indolence. How shameful we are, failing to do our duty when our country needs us most!

If all those soldiers could risk their lives for their country’s sake, then surely we can make the sacrifice of social distancing? We all must wear proper masks and leave not a single nostril exposed, and we must not be afraid to remind others of their duty. Though we have suffered terrible losses, we can still save a great many of our fellow Americans. We must unite and act to preserve the lives of our country.