Covid 19 and Politics
Hey there, I just wanted to make this post so that we could talk about and compare our perspectives of the impacts of the ongoing pandemic, both socially and economically, in different parts of the world. I also would like to see if we could talk about the kinds of political rhetoric that have been used and the ways in which it has impacted public response to the pandemic. One thing that I have really noticed here in the US is that there are still many people who are unconcerned about the ongoing pandemic or even think that Covid-19 does not exist since they have only seen part of the information. One of the most common arguments that I have seen is that it is not a big deal because it has a 99% survival rate, however this ignores the fact that the 99% survival rate is thanks in large part to the fairly extreme sorts of medical intervention that people have been able to get, something that becomes very difficult as hospitals get overwhelmed. Another point that people fail to consider when using this argument is that small percentages of very large numbers still result in large numbers. This downplaying of the danger is disappointing to me because it is not only disrespectful to the people who have lost their lives to Covid-19. Additionally it is intellectually dishonest for individuals to hypocritically claim that the current pandemic is a minor problem while also holding that other events resulting in loss of American lives, such as the terrorist attacks of 9/11, were massive tragedies. One of the most confusing things about this pandemic here in the US is how it has been coopted for political reasons, despite the fact that the science clearly shows what steps must be taken to bring about a resolution as quickly as possible.
