In the 1930s, many, many people allowed themselves to be convinced that killing off the “weaker“ people in their society would help their nation be the strongest it could be. Some actively participated, while others looked the other way as the people in power killed off the disabled and infirm and the elderly (along with around 6 million people who were Jewish). They did this for “the Fatherland.” It is the evil that rises up every so often in humanity when nationalism and the desire for power outweighs our love for people. And before you accuse me of proving Godwin’s law, please understand — This is the direction we are heading right now in this country.

When Trump and other republicans say things like, “We can’t have the cure be worse than the problem,” here is what they are saying: They’re saying they don’t believe that saving a few million people’s lives is WORTH the “cure” of a couple of months of drastically lowered economic output. We are horrifyingly close to having the elected leaders in this country come right out and say “It is worth letting 3 to 5 million Americans die to keep our economy strong.” They are actually comparing that imminent danger to the “danger” that people will start committing “suicides by the thousands” if people do not go back to work soon. And as they say this, many of us will look on in horror as a significant number of people nod along in agreement.

As numbers of cases of COVID-19 continue to rise exponentially across the country, Trump is now calling for us to “get back to work” by Easter… Which about two and a half weeks away. This may or may not have anything to do with the fact that he is surrounded by Prosperity Gospel charlatans, whose real reverence for the holiday celebrating Jesus’ resurrection is due to the fact that it is one of the biggest paydays of the year: EA$TER. I doubt Trump could manage to tell you what Easter really meant if Jesus himself was handing him lines. Scientist, doctors, and economists alike warn that restarting normal life too early would be disastrous for both the health of the general public AS WELL as the health of the economy.

Here’s the thing: It’s a weird position to be in — If we take the necessary precautions and not very many people die, the people who are thinking that this is “all a big overreaction” are going to think that they were proven right. And as frustrating as that is, it would still be ideal… But if this administration continues to prioritize LOOKING like it’s taking things seriously over ACTUALLY taking things seriously, and millions and millions of people die as a result, I was thinking that maybe one silver lining might be that at least the Trump supporters will see that science got it right… And that maybe scientists know what they’re talking about with other pressing issues (Like the human effects on global warming and climate change, and the necessity to start doing something about it RIGHT NOW, for example). And since it continues to look like a catastrophic number of people are going to end up dying from this, that there might at least be *something* good that comes from this?

But the more I think about it, the more I honestly don’t think they will learn anything. The people who are in charge will act like all the numbers are fake… They will act like news reports of all of those deaths are just attacks by the “liberal media.” These are the same sort of people who believe that the Sandy Hook massacre was faked… that they use “crisis actors.” I mean, three weeks ago he was acting like this was no big deal, a “democratic hoax,” and said that within a couple weeks we would probably have zero cases… And this week he is up there acting like he was on the front lines of taking this seriously and was the first person to use the word “pandemic.” Even though there is VIDEO of him doing the opposite. And his supporters believe him! This is why Trump can look at the situation and say, “You know what? Let’s just go ahead and open everything up anyway. If a whole bunch of people die, we will just lie about it, and the idiots who somehow continue to believe my lies will keep on supporting me.”

And I think he’d be right. There are a portion of people in this country that are so far gone that they will never ever change their mind about him. Around 38% of the voting public has been infected with the virus that is Donald Trump. You can’t show them a cited article from a reputable source, because they will just dismiss that article as “biased” propaganda from the “lame stream media.” You can’t show them independent fact checking sites, because they will dismiss those as some sort of George Soros-funded conspiracy. And you can’t show them a graph made by scientists showing how deadly this virus is if we don’t take it seriously, because they will just dismiss that as an “elitist” attack on their Dear Leader as well… And they’ll point to demonstrably false statements and outright lies that the president makes as “proof” that the scientists are wrong.

A significant portion of this country has decided that our worst citizens — a man who oozes stupidity and dishonesty and immorality and corruption from every filthy pore — is someone they trust more than doctors… More than economists… More than historians… More than journalists… More than math… More than the evidence right in front of their eyes. Everyone has google on their phone, and everyone is an expert now. We are not going to change these peoples minds with reason or rational arguments. There is no “flattening of the curve” of the people infected with the virus that is Trump. There are really only two things we can do: We can wait for them to die, or we can outvote them. I suggest we do the latter.

If you let it, it can make you start to feel hopeless. But that doesn’t solve anything. I’d rather we get angry…

You are all of us, Dr, Fauci. If I was standing where you were standing, I would have risked touching my face in this pandemic to complete this facepalm as well…

When you see Donald Trump stand up at a podium and tell a bunch of lies while people who know better stand silently behind him, don’t get hopeless… Get angry. When you see him blame the brave nurses and doctors and healthcare workers for not having enough masks and equipment (when it’s his incompetence and lack of leadership that is to blame), don’t get hopeless… Get angry. When you see him struggle to read through a simple sentence, don’t get hopeless… Get angry. When you see voices of reason and expertise disappear from those press briefings, and you know it is because they are not acquiescing to his stupidity and ego, don’t get hopeless… Get angry.

I don’t know that there is a way to pay attention to what is happening in Washington D.C. right now and NOT let it make you angry… But we can’t let that anger turn to hopelessness. We have to turn that anger into energy. The same energy that brought millions of people to the streets in the Women’s March. The same energy that flipped the House in 2018. The same energy that is going to vote this scoundrel out this November. Let that anger energize you to vote. Let it energize you to talk to other rational, caring people in your life about how it is SO important that each of us votes and takes action to remove this awful, awful man from his position of power and limit his ability to do even more harm.

And speaking of hopefulness, yesterday I saw the beautiful words above, and I wanted to share them with you. Don’t let the hatred and ignorance and dishonesty of a few blind you to the fact that there is love all around us. I write this to remind myself of this every bit as much as I write it to remind you…

Thank you again for reading. I hope you are staying at home, and I hope you are staying sane. If you love what I’m doing on this blog, and you like to help support it, you can become a Patron on Patreon. Shayla is my newest Patron, and if I wasn’t sheltering in place, I would find her and hug her sweet face. If you loved this post and you’d like to leave a tip to this furloughed server, you can do that ON PAYPAL or Venmo me at “Chris-boeskool.” Otherwise, you can join me on Facebook or on Twitter for more quarantine fun. And speaking of quarantine fun, here is a song I dedicated to all the moms out there who are following the CDC’s guidelines…