In the movie 300, King Leonidas explained the success of the Spartan army:
We fight as a single, impenetrable unit. That is the source of our strength. Each Spartan protects the man to his left from thigh to neck with his shield. A single weak spot, and the phalanx shatters.
That is a lesson seemingly lost on many Americans today as we face adversity, unlike anything we have seen, the Coronavirus. Somehow, we have managed to politicize a medical pandemic turning it into a political statement. Many governors’ decision to require the use of masks, a scientifically proven way of decreasing your chances even if you are asymptotic of infecting someone else, has become a symbol by many on the right as a sign of government overreach. Shelter in place orders has served as the impetus for groups of heavily armed individuals threatening lawmakers in actions that can only be described as terrorism. Doctors and nurses on the front lines saving lives stand in defiance to individuals protesting and refusing to wear masks or socially distance are called traitors. The majority of those protesting appear not to be doing so because they are in need of getting back to work. Still, because they have never known real oppression, they have confused shelter in place orders, designed to slow the spread of the virus and protect American lives, with oppression. The reality is that it is merely a matter of inconvenience to their daily routine, such as going to the bar or getting their morning latte from Starbucks. They believe the sacrifice they are being asked to endure temporarily, for not only their good but the good of their fellow Americans, is a mission simply too difficult. This is the exact opposite of the United States Army 1st Infantry division, the oldest continuously serving the regular Army, whose motto is:
No Mission Too Difficult. No Sacrifice Too Great. Duty First!
These individuals have no sense of sacrifice or duty; they are America’s weak spot, and it is because of them that our fight against this virus could shatter.
As troubling as that is more, the most problematic aspect is America’s lack of leadership in both government and business. Government officials and CEOs of big business shout America must reopen. They do this without any concern about the safety of the people they tell to return to life as normal. No, they do it hoping that it will bolster their re-election chances or increase their business’s profit, and they do it without taking any risk themselves. I believe conservative economist Thomas Sowell, whose views I rarely agree with, said it best when he said:
It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.
America believes to be the moral compass of the world, yet it has allowed itself to act in a selfish manner where its fellow Americans’ lives matter less than their selfish agendas. Where’s the morality in that?