Stop Blaming the Pandemic

The novel coronavirus is blamed for nearly everything except global warming, and it’s likely only a matter of time before liberals establish strong ties between COVID-19 and melting polar ice floes.

“The COVID craziness has ruined senior year for high school students.”

“The coronavirus caused the world economy to plunge into a deep recession.”

“COVID-19 is killing thousands of people worldwide.”

But this new, deadly virus that has swept the globe isn’t the real culprit. It is a virus that behaves like a virus. It infects its hosts, attacks healthy bodies, and decimates compromised ones. It’s a real virus and a legitimate threat to the health of vulnerable populations, but the coronavirus is not to blame for the devastating and far-reaching consequences of its arrival in our global population.

The policies that sprung up in reaction to the coronavirus are to blame, and the leaders who passed them are responsible for the tremendous fallout. The virus is a convenient scapegoat that policymakers blame when they order restrictions the likes of which have never been seen before in many countries, especially once the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 an official global pandemic.

“It is unsafe to gather in large numbers.”

“It is dangerous to meet in small groups.”

“Everyone needs to stand at least six feet away from other human beings.”

“Stay home and stay safe.”

Even though most of the people who test positive for Covid-19 experience only mild symptoms and recover without medical treatment, elected officials use fear of the virus to subdue their constituents into following their far-reaching orders. It’s not the pandemic’s fault that thousands of stores closed and millions of people are now unemployed. The coronavirus simply behaves like a virus. The public leaders who made the decision to abruptly (and unconstitutionally) force workers to leave their jobs indefinitely are to blame.

Decisions could have been made and policies enacted that protected both citizens’ health and the economic and social structures that we all depend on. Closing businesses and ordering people to stay home was a hasty, knee-jerk reaction to an unknown new virus, but lockdown restrictions should have been lifted after observing the situation unfold for several weeks. The disease so obviously mostly decimates congested cities and areas with large populations of elderly people. A more targeted approach would have been more effective, saving lives lost directly to COVID-19 and safeguarding the futures of all pandemic survivors.

COVID-19 didn’t cause sports seasons to be canceled, schools to shut down, or make gathering to peacefully worship a shameful crime. Over 300,000 people worldwide have died after contracting COVID-19, but the virus itself didn’t prevent medical resources from being diverted to the most vulnerable populations. Broad reaching policies that applied a panacea treatment rather than a methodical, targeted approach are to blame for the high death counts in nursing homes and crowded cities. The novel coronavirus is no longer to blame for our ongoing economic devastation, increasing mental health issues, and swift erosion of social institutions. Policymakers who continue to suppress unaffected populations with draconian preventive measures and extend lockdown orders into the second half of 2020 are ultimately responsible for the far reaching fallout.