The Week That Was
September 3rd - September 9th, 2021
The world has had a lot on its plate as of late, as I’m sure many of you can see. In addition to the everyday demands of life, we have existential threats to our rights, autonomy, health, and the health of the planet. What to do first? It takes a leader to triage and address competing crises. After a long time having to play defense, Joe Biden stepped up this week to seize the bully pulpit.
In politics, overnight is a long time, a week is forever. We’re currently just over 1,150 days out from the next presidential election, plenty of time to indulge in the theatrics of politics. But the present moment demands more. It’s time to cut the spectacle and look at what’s really going on. Trump and his carnival of cronies may want to put on a show to distract and change the subject but we cannot let them off the hook. Let’s not forget what happened on January 6 and all the preceded and followed it.
Quite frankly, this is a perilous time for the sanctity of the vote in this country. With the validity of the last election questioned by conspiracy theorists and Trump sycophants, elections that haven’t even taken place yet are now being undermined by GOP officials pushing restrictions without reason This is no time for indecision, waffling, or false moral equivalence. It’s pretty simple, really; either you’re for democracy or you’re not.
The dangers of the moment aren’t only to our body politic. Our bodies themselves are under threat. In the face of spiking COVID numbers, too many are eschewing safe and effective vaccines for quackery. It’s impossible to understate the absurdity behind the ivermectin craze, the latest in a long line of sham COVID treatments (remember hydroxychloroquine?) I’ll offer a rule of thumb — if your medical proclivities are more fitting for a nursery rhyme than the data of science, you have a problem. Because remember what happened to the old lady who swallowed a horse… (she died, of course.) Unless you’re Secretariat or maybe Mister Ed, please leave ivermectin on the shelves of the feedstore.
There has been no shortage of stupidity around COVID, but a take from Rep. Jim Jordan really takes the cake - if the cake was made of horse manure. According to a tweet from this “enlightened” representative from Ohio, “Real America is done with #COVID19.” I must have missed the memo, along with all the valiant front-line healthcare workers who toil tirelessly in the face of a horrific virus.
Our greatest defense against COVID is vaccination and the very existence of vaccines is a feat to praise again and again. I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat now for emphasis, “Yay, Science!”
After a lot of challenging news this week, I felt it would be good to wrap up our look back with a sight that pairs the wonders of nature with the marvelous inventiveness of the human mind. The scene is the mysterious Stonehenge visited by a marvel of the night sky. And just like this comet, I hope your weekend is brilliant and beautiful.
- In Case You Missed It -
Here are some articles from this week of stories that are must-reads, underreported, or just plain interesting:
How Exercise May Help Keep Our Memory Sharp [New York Times]
Doctors Say Texas Leaders Failed To Stop COVID-19 From Spreading [Houston Public Media]
The Other Afghan Women [New Yorker]
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Please let’s make Election Day a national holiday.
My wish for the world. Everyone wakes up with common sense restored.