David Stairs
Courtesy Wikipedia
America’s got troubles. I don’t mean the song lyric kind, but, you know, serious troubles. And they’re not the soft purring type you might find on a now infamous classic sci-fi show. Those are tribbles, the sort that pundits and wags like to compare to Donald Trump’s hair.
Donald Trump, not his hair, is in large part responsible for America’s troubles however. His ability to foment international hostilities, for instance. Or his underhanded way of hastening the transfer of wealth to corporate interests with his rollback of environmental protections. And most of all, he will be remembered for his unrelenting ability to politicize the Covid pandemic.
The Buffoon-in-Chief might be forgiven for not seeing the threat clearly before mid-January. Few Americans did. But his wilful avoidance of the scientific truths that have been obvious since late February must go down as one of the most shamelessly self-serving acts of cowardice in the history of the republic.
There are other acts of cowardice that can be cited, like the collaboration between business and politics that converted our healthcare system into a for-profit orgy unable to handle a public health crisis. But when it comes to solo acts of cowardice, Trump trumps all.
As the President continues to fumble and dissemble his way through the disaster more courageous people have risen to the forefront, individuals like Cuomo and Whitmer and most of all, Fauci. It is no surprise that after being upstaged by the good doctor for three solid months Trump is beginning to publicly challenge and contradict him. If there is one thing we can be sure about in 2020 America it’s the vanity of our fearful leader. And there is no wrath like that of a pussy spurned.
As we head into the great unknown of post-lockdown with the dire predictions of the nation’s chief epidemiologist ringing in our ears, many seem unfazed that Trump is more inclined to prefer the reassurances of chief engineer Montgomery Scott’s famous line, “It’s no tribble a’tal.”
And in a nation less focused on science than science fiction, there are those who will naturally look the other way as our troubles deepen. We will have only ourselves to blame.
David Stairs is the founding editor of the Design-Altruism-Project.
