Hope appears
limited in this dead of winter of 2021. Vaccines as cure-all? Does
not seem certain. And if not, what lies ahead in America and around the
world? Can we keep adjusting and making sacrifices indefinitely? How
can our economy withstand it? Was our economy really that great before
the pandemic?
The dead of winter makes the sense of duress worse. We are
learning of a variant of the virus from South Africa. And this strain
appears harder to handle for vaccines. Might we have to confront the
reality of no return to normal life for a very long time? What all would
the consequences be of that? We aren't quite one year into this. It's
just a blip of time in the scheme of things.
As we plod into spring, yes
our spirits will be lifted by milder weather. We'll have to balance
this with continued anxiety over the pandemic. Can we count on the
vaccines solving everything? Seems like there's no certain answer to
that. And we're still waiting on the vaccines to reach the bulk of the
population.
I'm on the waiting list at SCMC. As a 66-year-old maybe I'm
in good position. I turned 66 on Thursday. Thanks to Al and Liz Harris
for stopping by my place with a couple of tasty cupcakes. Thanks to the
University of Minnesota Foundation for sending a nice card. I'm pretty
isolated when it comes to family. No longer do I get my annual birthday
card from my aunt Mildred of Oregon. She has passed on.
Perhaps the most frank assessment of the virus is from Jair Bolsonaro, president of
Brazil. He has warned that coronavirus will be with us indefinitely. So he
suggests we back off from social distancing measures and learn to "live
with" the virus. Bolsonaro is my age. Not sure what that means, but I do
know he's a strongman leader, the type a large percentage of Americans
seem to want these days with Donald Trump.
We are still taking the wild
ride with Trump, his family and his sycophants, as Kevin McCarthy has
found it necessary to "kiss the ring" in Florida. Also, these people are flaring
up with anger and determination vs. Liz Cheney, a long-time darling for
American conservatives. Cheney bravely decided to be an outlier, show
courage and favor impeachment of Trump. You know who her father is. She
represents Wyoming today.
Maybe Cheney thought she could set an example for
Republicans and "give them cover" for coming forth with a realistic
assessment of Trump, to state the obvious. We can't be certain at
present how this will all play out. But as I write this, it seems the
momentum behind Trump remains most viable. Here in Morris it appears
there is a faction that has not backed off at all. I'll share with you
an email I sent to friends yesterday:
Well
Vicki and Bob, it's the "dead of winter." Has anyone made an issue on
behalf of the community about the prominent Trump-Pence sign out by the
highway where people turn off by Pizza Hut? Is this what our community
stands for now? We now have a congressman who voted to reject the
electoral college. Even Tom Emmer didn't do that. Incredible. We're
Neanderthals out here.
I
have mentioned the Trump-Pence sign on my blogs but of course my blogs
have very limited reach. I wish it was more but I keep plugging away.
Ward Voorhees thought maybe the sign was on a state highway right of
way, therefore it would be illegal. And I have asked, based on Jan. 6,
would Pence even want to be associated with Trump now? Is our community
now like the Cornerstone Church in Alexandria? Unbelievable.
"This issue of Covid will continue for life," Bolsonaro says. He says all the social distancing will "lead nowhere."
We pray that the South Africa variant will not counter our efforts to
fight back. There is just something about this "bug" that seems
persistent, stubborn etc. So let's trot out the phrase that we must
"prepare for the worst."
Inevitably there will be calls to actually
curtail funding for government-supported institutions that have had to
cut back services dramatically. Look at our schools. Our
libraries. Kids can learn at home and maybe they don't need a
professional "teacher" looking over their shoulder. Really. Can the
library sit there closed so much and still be funded according to the
norm? "Curbside service" is obviously not the same.
Whither our
restaurants? Are they headed for more shutdown periods? Where can you
dine out in the evening in Morris now? We have been hunkering down but I
think this has been with the assumption that we can count on the storm
clouds passing, "normalcy" back. (Or is it "normality?)
Ah, normality -
we'll start saying "the good old days." Of course life was not always
rosy then either. Economy was doing great? Hey, we had three straight
interest rate cuts, chalked up to the "trade war with China." There are
always excuses. My late mother would say "so something bad happened?
Well, something bad always happens."
We went through that with the
so-called 2008 financial crisis, which was not an act of God. The common
people always seem to get the dirty end with these "crises." The three
interest rates cuts were followed by a full one point at the onset of
the pandemic. And yet Trump thumped his chest - of course - and talked
about how he helped create "the greatest economy in the history of the
world."
He also created a significant insurrection at our revered
capitol building, if you all still consider the place "revered" at all.
Many of you apparently don't. Many of you might have felt it was an
appropriate target for rage. Trumpism is pretty prevalent now here in
West Central Minnesota. Do high school civics teachers even dare suggest
or imply that the storming of the capitol was an outrage? Or at least
inappropriate?
I wondered in a previous post how the late Morris High
School civics teacher Andy Papke would treat the subject. I'm sure it
would be with the assumption that the mob's behavior was an abomination.
Papke is no longer with us. He might be shaking his head as he looks
down. What would he think of Michelle Fischbach? What would he think if
he were to read news accounts of what happened with the Cornerstone
Church pastor in Alexandria? Christian leaders! What is happening with
our country?
I had a nagging feeling following the capitol invasion: all
this is not going to stop. We waited through a long weekend before the
Democrats could take action promoting impeachment. (A few Republicans went along, then.) I was horrified
seeing two days pass - the weekend, when I guess we don't "work"
although I always did - because I knew the inaction could gum up the
works. We'd start getting a little emotional distance. Yes, over just
two days.
The Trump people had an intransigent streak that was bound to
rear its ugly head. Time was the Democrats' enemy. So we're at an impasse
now where Democrats will evidently hold a "trial" but the Republicans
are guaranteed to prevent conviction. Not even Liz Cheney with her
conservative pedigree could get the worm to turn.
So this morning I
drove to DeToy's restaurant for breakfast, to meet Del Sarlette there,
and that was pleasant enough but I still had to look at the
"Trump-Pence" sign out by Greeley Plumbing. Again, it could be that
Greeley's has nothing to do with it. Why can't we get some answers about
who does? Pence could have been killed as part of the insurrection.
That's because he did not join the Trump coup attempt.
Pence felt he had
to follow the law. Isn't that exemplary? I followed the law this
morning when I put on my seat belt.
Addendum: If the extraterrestrials are pulling the strings with the virus, maybe the whole human population will be wiped out. We'll see ever-worsening "variants." The ETs may be taking action because they see climate change is killing the planet. Would make an interesting movie. Starring Keanu Reeves.
My podcast for Jan. 29
Please visit my "Morris Mojo" podcast where I discuss churches' online efforts. These are so important now for connecting with "the flock." Many of us feel rather isolated. We can visit YouTube and connect with our own church or any church in the USA actually! I find it exciting. I'd like to see my First Lutheran Church of Morris do better. Here's the permalink:
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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