They marched in Michigan. They marched in Ohio. They marched in Minnesota. They marched in Kentucky. They marched in North Carolina.

And more marches are coming.

They marched to supposedly “liberate” their states from oppressive government control in implementing stay-at-home orders to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Yet, even as they carried themselves with bluster and defiance…they marched in fear.

They marched against common sense. They marched in support of ignorance. They marched not as the rebels they believe themselves to be, but as puppets to a propaganda machine.

Don’t get me wrong – there is a lot to be afraid of right now, and the terrible toll stay-at-home orders are having on the economy is certainly high among them. Even under best-case scenarios, it will take years to come back from the economic hits the nation and the world are taking…and many in the margins, living paycheck-to-paycheck or worse, will be permanent victims of those hits.

But the panicked push to end those orders is not only callous of the significantly larger number of lives lost if we “reopen America” too soon, they are ignorant of the far greater impact on the economy if we go back to “business as usual” before the spread of the virus is greatly diminished and we have widespread monitoring available. (A vaccine, of course, will be the closest thing to an “all clear,” but even optimistic predictions suggest one won’t be available until 2021.)

Yes, “liberators,” as bad as the economy is now and may remain for some time, it could become so very much worse. We’ve seen how quickly this virus spreads, and a major second or third wave of COVID-19 could shutter stores again; make a large number of people wary of ever returning to restaurants, bars, theaters and other public venues; and put even more small businesses at risk. And, coldhearted as it is to think about death rates in this regard, if we call off stay-at-home and social distancing measures too soon, it will mean the loss of millions of consumers…who also happen to be our fellow human beings.

The death toll due to COVID-19 is already a worldwide tragedy (165,000-plus victims globally at this writing), but if we aren’t vigilant about best practices to diminish its spread, it could become historically catastrophic. Even if one takes the shallow “America first” view, we are leading the world by vast numbers in both confirmed cases and deaths, with over 40,000 U.S. fatalities as of this writing.

When 2,996 people died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, we were told life could no longer be the same and we needed to be forever vigilant. That’s true. Even if the military response to 9/11 was misguided, ineffective and tremendously costly in both lives and money, there is no doubt 9/11 made us realize how vulnerable we could be from an attack. But somehow, with a death toll already 13 times higher than inflicted by those terrorist attacks and sure to rise significantly more, some believe the best response is to shrug it off and get back to business.

Of course, state and municipal governments need to do everything they can to expedite getting more businesses up and running, limiting stay-at-home rules and refining social distancing guidelines as they can. Some cities and states will be able to do this sooner than others and, if monitoring can be enacted widely, even badly affected areas may be able to do that as confirmed cases remain high. But the economic recovery from COVID-19 needs to be done in step with the health crisis, not apart from it. And that means prioritizing the health emergency first.

But the “liberate” movement – spurred by a president who, failing miserably at leadership in his biggest test, has decided to rally the troops of #TrumpCult by appealing to the spirit of “I want mine and I want it now” – does not recognize that the toll on the economy is also hitting people who support stay-at-home strategies. (By the way, polls show the vast majority of Americans do support the measures.)

For some in this so-called liberation movement, it may simply be a matter of not taking the longer view – not understanding that this is our moment of sacrifice, as rationing was for the American public in World War II.

However, for a sizeable portion of the mobs showing up in these demonstrations, it’s clear that misinformation and wild conspiracy theories are driving their actions. The fringe theories include that Bill Gates was behind COVID-19, it’s all a plan to impose worldwide socialism, and, of course, that the virus was hatched as a plot against Trump. 

From Breitbart to Alex Jones to QAnon, there are countless sources of wild fiction masquerading as fact and they spread like wildfire on social media. President Trump (who appeared on Jones’ show as a candidate) has embraced bullshit “journalism” fully. These days, he even finds right-wing messaging favorite Fox News too critical and has taken a shine to OAN (One America News Network) – propping this American Pravda up as a legitimate organization in the circus of the White House COVID-19 press briefings.

In perhaps the most unsettling of Trump’s many disturbing statements during the pandemic, after essentially throwing his arms up and leaving informed response to the nation’s governors, he took to his beloved Twitter to call out to his base: “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!,” and “LIBERATE VIRGINIA! and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!”

The Virginia callout was the most troubling. It was a shameless dog whistle to extremists who see gun rights under constant threat, even though we remain a nation with some of the least-restrictive gun laws in the world, even as mass shootings have become expected and quickly forgotten. Trump was trying to position stay-at-home orders with recently passed, sensible gun laws in Virginia, even though the legislation had nothing to do with COVID-19 response. (While gun shops have been deemed essential businesses in some states, there are very good reasons to close them in a crisis like this for those who care to see.)

With a nation more and more divided in what they define as “news,” and opinions overriding facts when it suits people, it’s hard to know how to battle against the glaring lies of a loose-cannon president.

As someone who is lucky enough to have a job right now, I do not want to diminish the concerns of those whose livelihoods are at risk. We should press for the best response by local and federal authorities to alleviate their struggles. But whatever that entails in the short run, the way this crisis impacted our economy in just a matter of weeks should spell out, clear as day (all-caps for the #TrumpCult), that fixing our broken social safety net is the best path to avoiding the worst effects of financial crises – and we are bound to have more.

This pandemic has taught us that national borders mean very little and state borders mean even less. From pandemics to climate change, we need to be citizens of the world before citizens of any nation if we are really to prepare for these kinds of events. And more are coming. Cross-border crises, whether disease or disasters, are simply part of our future.

But the “liberators” prefer to find comfort in conspiracies, rallying against perceived enemies in the statehouses and, astonishingly, seeing a savior in the White House.

It’s understandable why they cling to such madness. COVID-19 has shown how little control they have, how fragile and at the mercy of nature we all are, and how much hard work is needed to reinvent our nation and our world so we might not be in this kind of jeopardy again soon.

They are scared. Scared senseless.

“LIBERATE MICHIGAN“

Here are the numbers: Over 700,000 cases of Covid-19 in the United States. Over 40,000 have died.

I don’t blame Donald Trump for Covid-19. I do blame him for his lack of an early response and how he’s handling the pandemic. I’m pretty sure that playing Golf and calling it a hoax isn’t the way to stop a virus from entering our country.

“LIBERATE MINNESOTA“

Coming from me, this may be hard to believe, but I liked the plan that Trump put forward to start the re-opening of the U.S. I thought the cautious, three stage plan, which including massive testing was an excellent and safe way to get us moving again. I would have liked to have seen a month instead of fourteen days before we moved up each stage, but at least Don was listening to the experts. He was listening to the science.

That lasted one day. Not even one fucking day!

“LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd amendment. It is under siege!”

Thursday afternoon, Trump breaks out his plan. By Friday morning, he wants to liberate the country. Forget about taking it slow. Forget about the plan. It’s time to hit the streets!

What makes this worse is that his minions live by his words. It took only a few hours before the Florida Governor opened the beach in Jacksonville. By Saturday, it was jam packed. I guess getting some sun is worth risking your life. Hopefully they used sunscreen. 

Apparently other Governors have understood the words slow re-opening as meaning Monday. They’ve given the clearance for their state’s residents to go back to work and resume their daily activities. Yeah, it’s important, but it couldn’t wait another month…or at least two more weeks? People, it’s pretty hard to go to work when you’re dead!

Liberate 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!

It’s been shown during this pandemic that Donald Trump doesn’t care about the American people. He only cares about a strong economy and that’s because it’ll put money in his and his family’s pockets. A strong economy improves his chances to be re-elected president. To Hell with expanded testing. To Hell with thousands of more deaths. Hey, at least people are at the beach!

We need to liberate the White House. November can’t come soon enough. Hopefully we’ll still be alive then.

Related Post: Are you still watching Donald Trump’s coronavirus press briefings?

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What is your favorite quote or saying? I love inspirational quotes, and even have a few Pinterest Boards that I share them on. It is challenging to choose just one; however, this quote by Walt Disney resonated with me during normal life, but especially now at this time. He was quoted as saying, “I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.” I am aware of what is going on in the world. I read articles, I listen to the news, and I look at the number of cases and the deaths each night. I even know people who have personally lost a family member and a friend to covid-19 so I am realistic. I am staying busy writing and reading a lot. In addition, I walk daily even if I have to walk in circles inside the house. I live with my mother so although I worry about her getting sick, I am grateful that I am not alone. I realized though that I have not cried over what is happening in the world yet. Anyone who knows me probably thought that I cry myself to sleep nightly since I am such a sensitive and emotional person. I have asked myself if should I worry that I have not cried? I think that like Walt Disney’s quote I know that life is complex, and I also know that I can’t give to others from an empty well, which is what I want to do during this time. It is important to keep my well full and maybe it is filled with good things like love, positivity, gratitude and hope that there is just not enough room for tears. Maybe one day the tears will flow, but for today where there is fear, I want to be filled with hope. Where there is uncertainty, I want to be filled with trust. Where there is anxiety, I want to be filled with peace. Where there is lacking, I want to be filled with gratitude.Where there is darkness, I want to be filled with light so that I can be a light to others in this darkness to encourage and to offer hope.

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And read more positive thoughts Looking For The Good

All through my day, no matter where I go, or what I do, I am always looking for the good in people, in the world, in my life or even just in my day.

Hey, it’s Illinois where the entire governmental apparatus is designed to  form a more perfect political machine, establish special privileges, insure Democratic Party tranquility, provide for the indicted pols’ defense, promote the insiders’ welfare, and secure the blessings of government workers’ unions.

Unbelievable, you say? Who would have the brass to do that while so many people are suffering from the coronavirus economic shutdown? And while an Illinois Democratic leader has petitioned for a $40 billion bailout from the feds?

The Illinois Policy Institute has the skinny:

ILLINOIS SCHEDULED TO GIVE $261M IN AUTOMATIC PAY RAISES TO STATE WORKERS:Pritzker should join other Democratic governors in postponing automatic pay raises, which would free up funds for needy Illinoisans and potentially preserve state worker jobs in the long run.

That, despite this bad news:

Nearly 1.5 million Illinoisans – 24% of the state’s workforce – are vulnerable to layoffs and reduced hours. Over half a million residents filed unemployment claims in the past four weeks.

The mounting economic crisis is certain to be accompanied by a steep drop in state tax revenues – a University of Illinois study estimated anywhere between $4.3 billion and $14.1 billion – and Illinois lawmakers and the governor will need to allocate funds to deal with the most urgent budget priorities.

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My historical novel: Madness: The War of 1812

On the first night I joined my cancer support group, back in 2012, a member of the group told me that cancer was a gift. I was crying at that moment, but stopped on a dime. I was speechless.

Not long after, I discovered the New York Times’ feature, ”Picture Your Life After Cancer,” a series of photos that people submitted of themselves with short descriptions of their lives after a cancer diagnosis. I ran across two photos, both of Laurie Comings, a young woman who had survived leukemia. In one she was dancing at a wedding. In another she was in scrubs working as a nurse on an oncology unit. In her description, she wrote, “When tallied up, no, it is not a blessing, and never tell a cancer patient that it is.”

I wanted to hug her, dance with her, talk to her. She was angry about what cancer took from her, about how it made her suffer, about how treatment had left permanent disabilities. And in her words I found validation and comfort.

It is human nature, at least for some humans, to find silver linings. And, I’ve heard people say similar things about COVID, about its “gifts.”

But I want to push back hard against the notion that the tribulation itself brings the gifts, that if we look hard enough we will find silver linings.

To talk like this erases suffering. We erase each other and erase our humanity. Cancer is awful. It’s terrifying, traumatic, painful, soul-destroying. Cancer kills our children and our husbands, our mothers and grandmothers.

For those who live through it, cancer leaves behind trauma and anxiety, depression and sorrow.

Treatments often have lifelong effects: hearing loss, lymphedema, neuropathy. People lose organs and limbs. People lose their voices, their privacy, their sex lives. People lose friends and family members.

Suffering and dying do not in real life mirror their depiction in movies. So much of suffering through cancer is disgusting. Pain isn’t noble. It can be intolerable both to feel and to watch. Drugs that relieve pain often shut down consciousness and bring their own side effects.

I imagine the same is true of those who’ve met COVID face to face.

This morning I took my thyroid pill and choked on it. It was stuck in my throat and I couldn’t breathe. For half a second I thought I’d die. I panicked. But then, of course, it cleared and I could drink water.

I thought then of people with COVID, unable to catch their breath for long periods of time. The terror they must feel. The sounds they must make.

I remember being in a hospital room with my mother when a mucus plug caused her to code. She couldn’t breathe, and while she was conscious the look in her eyes is something I’ll never forget, though I have tried.

These are not gifts, and you’ll not find silver linings in their midst. They are the stuff of nightmares and post traumatic stress.

Yet, I am a long way from my cancer diagnosis and successful treatment. I am starting to gain my footing in the midst of COVID. And, I know that I have grown and learned in spite of the suffering, in spite of the lingering effects.

I walk my dog through my neighborhood, usually a quiet place, not unfriendly but not full of gregarious hand wavers and folks calling out, “Hello, how are you?” either.

I’m seeing folks and dogs I’ve never seen before, and almost without fail people greet each other with warmth. As they cross the street to keep good distance they smile and comment on my dog.

As my dog sniffed a tuft of grass, one woman said, “Do you know what he’s doing?” Pause. “Checking his pee mail.” I roared laughing.

A group of us gathered on the four corners of an intersection a few weeks ago, all looking in the sky at a group of 20 or so migrating vultures. We watched together and talked about how eerie it was to see them.

I watch John Krasinski’s “Some Good News” every week and marvel at the kindness and generosity of human beings.

But these are not gifts of COVID. They aren’t silver linings discovered.

These are intentional acts by human beings. The good we see in the midst of suffering is the good we make.

Cancer and viruses are diseases, aberrations, replicants. They are not gifts and they are not joy.

Humans, though, we’re capable of creating the good, of learning in spite of the bad, of making in the midst of the ignoble some nobility. Some can even, in the midst of horrible pain, offer joy, craft peace.

Clouds don’t have linings. There is not good inside of them. Instead we stitch good inside of them.

When we do these good things, we honor the suffering of others, we acknowledge it, we are humble in its presence. We can fight for others and for ourselves. We can believe.

We can make for ourselves a new normal, where both grief and hope have a place. We can see others, hear them, offer care.

We can give the gift of ourselves.

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