As anyone having served in the military knows, the effectiveness of a unit depends on “One for all, all for one” or “no man left behind.” Without this commitment, cohesiveness and effectiveness decreases or may even fail. With COVID-19, these concepts now apply to all of us across the United States.
With rights and freedom come obligations for the common good. To be able to fight the virus, we all should have followed the scientific guidelines of wearing personal protection, social distancing and washing hands, as recommended by epidemiologists.
South Korea experienced COVID-19 several weeks before us. In addition to testing and contact tracing, their leaders immediately implemented scientific recommendations resulting in only 300 deaths for a nation of 52 million people. Based on a population comparison with 145,000 deaths in our country, our death rate is 76 times greater than South Korea’s, or 140,000 excessive deaths.
Now, with the pandemic flaring up again, scientists are recommending starting over from the beginning with the consequences of more loss of life and greater damage to our economy.
This debacle is the responsibility of our president and his Republican enablers ignoring science, despite our country having the world’s leading scientists.
Remember, for the upcoming November election, a true leader seeks advice, admits mistakes and has compassion – none of which President Trump is capable of.
Werner HeiberDurango
