Fiddling While America Burns

Roman emperor Nero reportedly fiddled while Rome burned. He was an ineffectual leader during Rome's time of crisis. The Roman senate declared him a public enemy.

Trump tweets while America burns. And while unarmed black citizens are killed. And while more than 106,000 Americans die of a pandemic he ignored. He is an ineffectual leader while the country faces three simultaneous crises: a pandemic, rampant racism, and high unemployment.

He hides in the White House, refusing to address the American people to at least attempt to calm their fears, address the threats presented by a bunch of anarchists, reassure our Black citizens, and advocate following the steps recommended by scientists and public health experts to slow the spread of the pandemic.

Instead of doing any of these things -- things of which he is undeniably incapable -- he stokes the flames of hatred and divisiveness. He cares about nothing and nobody but himself and the stock market. His sole goal is to be reelected so he can grab more power for himself and drag the country ever close to an autocracy.

This administration is totally incompetent at handling the pandemic that so far has taken the lives of more than 106,000 Americans. Who else would suggest investigating whether putting bleach inside the body would cure Covid-19? Who else would advise taking hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19 despite its tendency to cause life-threatening heart problems? Who else would take advice from his corrupt son-in-law about how to deal with the pandemic and which states need how many ventilators?  Who else would spend the weekend golfing at one of his golf resorts rather than dealing with the crises at hand?

A crisis is the ongoing murder of unarmed black citizens at the hands of cops in city after city, year after year. A black woman is gunned down while alseep in her home by police who invaded her home. A black woman is arrested on a traffic violation, taken to jail, and ends up dead by hanging. A handcuffed black man is killed by a white police officer who kneels on his neck for nearly 9 minutes.

These things are crises. These things need serious attention. They need serious action and serious reforms. These things needs words of comfort and calm, not threatening tweets from a president totally lacking in any semblance of humanity. They need the actions of a president who at least pretends to care, not of a president more interested in golfing than in addressing the pain of the country's citizens.
  We are in a pandemic that shows no end, a pandemic that has cost more than 106,000 lives. This pandemic has caused more than 36,000,000 (36 million) people to lose their jobs. More than 100,000 businesses have closed their doors for good ... so far.

And what does the person who is supposed to guide the nation through not one, but two, major crises? He hides in the White House (when he isn't on the golf course) rather than addressing the nation.

I don't know what to do. I can vent my anger online, but what good does that do? So i sit at home (to keep myself and others safe during the pandemic) and stew. I walk. I pace. I am stressed and angry and frustrated. Most of all, I fear for my country. Are we on the verge of a civil war? It certainly seems that way. The America in which I grew up and have lived for many decades no longer exists. 

We are a country deeply divided, but not only by race. We are divided by economic status, by education, by politics, by belief (or not) in science and logic, by outlook. and by common sense (or lack thereof). Congress is divided into those who want to provide more relief to struggling citizens, and those who refuse to take any action after the first round of benefits that overwhelmingly benefited large corporations and billionaires. We are divided into those who demand that businesses return to normal operations NOW, regardless of the human lives that will be lost when the virus spreads, and those who want to move ahead slowly. One group demands to be allowed to get a haircut or go bowling, while the other remains safely at home. We are divided into those willing to wear face coverings and practice social distancing, and those who refuse to do these simple things and who believe the pandemic is all a hoax.

As Abraham Lincoln famously said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Our nation is more divided than I have ever seen it. The president and his minions, rather than trying wig to calm the people's anger, fears and frustrations and bring people together, works hard to further divide the nation. He reportedly has no interest in delivering a message of unity, in part because he and his administration have no idea what to do. Is this part of a plan to declare martial law? We all know he years to be a dictator.

What can we the people do to stop this madness? I wish I knew. What I do know is that the president has no ability to, or interest in, addressing the crises facing this country. At a time when strong, principles leadership is essential, we have a coward sending out endless tweets while hiding in the basement.

May God help us all.