Vote D for Democracy

The Value of Life in a Pandemic

#DemCast, Political Action, Politics

This is a reblog of a post by DemCast writer, Mindy Schwartz.

On April 22nd, her aunt died of Coronavirus:

The Value of Life in a Pandemic

As of the morning of April 23, 2020, 47,992 Americans have died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus sweeping across the earth.  The first known US death from COVID-19 was on February 6, 2020, so all of the 47,992 died in slightly less than 2 ½ months.  In comparison, the 15-year US military death toll in the Vietnam War, from 1961-1975, was 58,220.  On April 22nd, my 86-year-old aunt became one of those COVID-19 death statistics.

Over the past several days, we’ve been hearing calls for reopening the government.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said, “There are more important things than living.” when asked about the dangers of reopening the state too early.  Indiana Representative Trey Hollingsworth said about the potential loss of life that “it is the lesser of these two evils” in calling for reopening the economy.

In a 25-minute interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman called for opening the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, without offering any plan for social distancing or other safety measures.  Instead, she said she offered to use the crowded casinos as a “control group” to test what going back to normal conditions would do to the local coronavirus infection and death rates.  When Cooper asked her if she would be on the casino floors each night, showing the world that it was safe, she deflected the question. Once again, as has happened over and over again in history, the rich and powerful are ready to sacrifice other people’s children, parents, siblings, relatives, and friends to protect their fortunes and power.

Click the link below to read the rest of her post on #DemCast,

The Value of Life in a Pandemic

Mindy Schwartz is a blogger, life-long political activist, pet nutritionist, wife, daughter, DogMom, DemCast California Content Captain, and Jew. She is equally proud of all of those roles.

Disclaimer: I am not paid to promote #DemCast, and Demcast does not pay me to write.

27 thoughts on “The Value of Life in a Pandemic”

  1. The news cycle has been so busy with the protesters and murders they haven’t memtioned Corona in the past few days. Truly dangerous those thousands of protesters no doubt will elevate the numbers more. 😦

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Over the weekend, 6000 people died, we lost I checked the number Sunday night. Since then, we’ve lost another 2000. I hope the press figures out that the REAL story is the massive psychological attack that began in 2014, how it distorts our perceptions, and overwhelms our emotions and ability to reason.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Thanks for sharing this, Rob. I left a comment on Mindy’s blog but it didn’t show up. Right at the start of the pandemic lockdown I had a brief – very brief – moment of hope that we would come out the other end realising what harm our (maybe not yours and mine but you know what I mean) love of profit does to people and change things for the better. I see no prospect of this now. In England (not UK, only England) they have 8,000 new cases a day – and the government wants everyone back to work.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. The sad thing is once things are open people behave like there is no need for social distance. The beach and bar scenes are shocking. We can all complain about greed but what the heck is wrong with people who don’t protect themselves.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. That’s a good question, John. How is it possible for so many people believe wildly irrational lies when the facts are just a google search away. Your question reminds me of something a Soviet Defector said in a 1984 interview. At that time the Soviet Union was waging “a psychological warfare, to change the perception of reality, of every American, to such an extent, that despite the abundance of information, no one is able to come to sensible conclusions in the interest of defending themselves, their families their communities, and their country. ”

      USSR did manage to do some damage by fabricating a lie that the pentagon had invented AIDS, but it took years for that story to gain traction. With social media, they can spread multiple lies to specific targets in seconds.

      Liked by 1 person

  8. An interesting read for me Robert, from way down here in Geelong….. I had a feeling that there seems to be a push to get the economy going, despite the obvious problem that the virus is no-where near being under control yet …. greed and need..v’s … life and love….

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you for your comment, Ivor. I hope you’re well. This is a pivotal moment in history. It seems as if leaving barbarism is as hard as leaving childhood. We want to go back and have one last fling. 🙂

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  9. Lately, from the President, the governors and mayors, it seems that human life has no value. The most important thing is not to drop the economy that, according to them, is the basis of society. Rather, health is an obstacle to overcoming a country. And if the poor are the most exposed to the virus, that is not their problem. Well what more can you say.
    Very good your article. One is full of anger but it is reality.
    A good weekend
    Manuel

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you for the comment, Manuel. Our founders based the U.S. system of government on the moral premise that all people are equal before God and the law. This was a radical idea in a world of kings. The struggle to end slavery, the battle for women’s rights, the struggle for gay rights, the fight to legalize interracial and same-sex marriage, American history is a series of actions in a rebellion against feudalism that began in 1776. Promoting an evolving vision of justice in a world that respects human rights and human diversity is our mission as Americans.

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      1. And it seems to me that it is a very laudable goal because we have to be attached to human principles. The inequalities, the only thing that brings hunger and misery. Good for you for having that conviction.
        Manuel

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Faith in creating a future in which everyone has the time to learn and imagine took us from the jungle to the moon. I’m reminded of something Barbra Jordan said at the Watergate Hearings: “Earlier today, we heard the beginning of the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States: “We, the people.” It’s a very eloquent beginning. But when that document was completed on the seventeenth of September in 1787, I was not included in that “We, the people.” I felt somehow for many years that George Washington and Alexander Hamilton just left me out by mistake. But through the process of amendment, interpretation, and court decision, I have finally been included in “We, the people.”:

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