The Election

Here we go again. Can that be a good thing?

It's a somber time for many of us, and of course some are very happy with the outcome. In the aftermath of this Presidential election, I was reminded of my father’s death from COVID-19 by a Trump-supporting family member.

My father succumbed to COVID during the massively botched early days of the pandemic. Trump downplayed the seriousness of COVID, telling the country in late March 2020 that he wanted to see churches full of people by Easter Sunday (which was April 12th). It was a wreckless statement. Public health experts warned against easing COVID restrictions too early, saying it could lead to more deaths, huge strains on hospitals, and significant economic damage. Trump said COVID-19 was like the flu, and other ridiculous things. In due time we saw refrigerated trucks being used as morgues. My father’s burial was delayed four weeks as a result of the huge number of dead COVID victims’ bodies being managed in the NYC area.

My father treated people with respect. He was also a man of science, a physicist, who taught my brothers to be the kind of men who treat women with respect - the kind of men that Donald Trump could never hold a candle to.

Both of my parents voted for Trump in 2016; both had been voting for Republicans for years. My Dad passed before the 2020 election. My mother came to see Trump's serious deficiencies, in no small part because of the circumstances surrounding my father contracting and succumbing to COVID. She no longer supports Trump.

When my Trump supporting friends expressed their condolences over the death of my father, they would invariably ask me about his health before he got COVID. It seemed to me that they were reassured that he had significant preexisting health challenges. They seemed reassured, in other words, that he could be put into the category of someone who was going to die anyway.

But, of course, we are all going to die anyway.

There are many people whose deaths by COVID could not easily be put into the “they’re going to die anyway” category. These people who succumbed to COVID were not burdened with serious health challenges. We lost so many Americans whose deaths were likely preventable if our country embraced a reasonable COVID prevention strategy early on.

Despite this reality, the magnitude of Trump COVID mismanagement and lies was tolerated and accepted by too many Americans, even today.

Ignorance around medicine is so rampant that Trump has promised he will empower Bobby Kennedy Jr. to “go wild on health”. In 2019, Kennedy misled people in Samoa about measles vaccination. His bogus claims undermining measles vaccination contributed to an outbreak that killed 83 people. Kennedy has no business playing any role in public health. Medical experts have expressed concern that Kennedy’s vaccine quackery will increase vaccine hesitancy in the country. If that’s the case, we can expect outbreaks of diseases which are largely unheard of, along with the deaths those diseases bring.

Medical ignorance and quackery is just one troubling aspect of Trump leadership. When my sister expressed dismay at how Trump’s mishandling of COVID impacted our father, a Trump supporting relative told my sister "Your father would have died of a cold". That's false. Despite his very significant health challenges, my father’s heart and lungs were strong. But this relative’s ignorant and grossly insensitive scolding taught us how far some people will go - even beloved family members -to defend their point of view when it comes to Trump. A topic that would have certainly been approached (pre-Trump) with some respect and sensitivity is now handled with an entitled indulgence in nasty rhetoric. The callousness and lack of appreciation for sound information which Trump embodies and empowers in others has real and damaging outcomes.

My father respected people. He set an example of speaking with goodwill about others. The "N" word (or anything approaching it) was never uttered in our house. My mother is the same. When I was 5 years old they let me stay up late to watch “West Side Story” on TV, which my father loved. He was a big fan of Broadway musicals and taught me the song “I Feel Pretty”. My father was not prepared for my complete meltdown when (spoiler alert) Tony died at the end. My parents handled it by sitting me down with a bowl of ice cream (!). I know - not the best approach - treating a child’s sadness with sweets. The message of the story against racism made a big impression. The targeted minority in West Side Story is Puerto Ricans. Interesting how history repeats itself.

The range of tacit acceptance to outward expression of racism by Trump supporters I know has been a huge disappointment. But at least it’s out there to be seen, it’s there to be recognized.

Medical quackery and racism are just a few of the deeply concerning elements demonstrated by Trump. There are so many others.

So we move forward with the choice that our country has made. Awareness is a good thing. It can be painful, but disturbing realities don’t magically disappear if we ignore them. Such realities are up to be recognized and addressed. Maybe that’s a good thing.