Coronavirus has brought out the best in some boomers and the worst in others, but if nothing else, it sure has made us think. Forrest Brakeman of La Canada, California, is a professional comedian, but in this Boomer Opinion essay, he doesn’t find anything funny about this Great American Train Wreck.
Well, it happened. We got driven into the ditch. This is the Great American Train Wreck.
A very real virus, one that scientists saw coming, has invaded our country, paralyzed our economy, threatened the lives of millions, and left America without toilet paper.
It is very easy to point to Trump and say he is to blame, because he is. His hatred of the black president who made fun of him at the Correspondents Dinner led him to eliminate the pandemic response team and cut funding to the CDC. This is a straight line.
Grocery store shelves across the U.S. have been stripped bare.
His inaction and belief in conspiracy theories led him to label a killer disease as a hoax, which in turn led millions to believe his claims that it was made up to make him look bad. These moronic steps led the federal government to not take the appropriate action at the appropriate time to minimize the effects of the virus.
But it actually happened long before that. Our nation, as a whole, has slowly but steadily lost the ability to think critically. Boomers know that when we were in school, the forefront of a teacher’s lesson plan was, “What do you think?” We were required to write essays and research papers backed by factual information that we gathered from multiple sources, and demonstrate how that led us to our conclusions.
Somewhere, a few administrations ago, we veered away from critical thinking, and careened towards test scores as the ultimate measure of an education. Teachers began teaching to the tests, and spent less time on analysis and discussion. Students naturally followed because, well, school, right? Standardized learning became the norm in lower education, to the detriment of our future.
Trump now claims he took the virus “very seriously” from the start even though he dismissed it and called coronavirus a “hoax” created by Democrats and what he calls “the fake news media.”
Following this came the rise of Fox “News.” This was a pivotal turning point in our culture. Prior to Fox, news stations could be counted on to bring us the actual news. The elimination of the Equal Time rule, the elimination of the Fairness Doctrine, and the addition of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 meant that corporations could own as many media outlets as they wanted, and the idea of fair and impartial news was destroyed.
Fox News thrived on reaching out to people who had stopped thinking critically, and fed them a constant diet of conspiracy theory “news” that, when repeated often enough, became ingrained in their audience’s thought process. Their audience accepted these views as fact, and acted accordingly. Fox no longer provided, as news outlets used to, equal time for opposing views, but rather used fear-mongering and hysteria to hook their audiences.
Combine that with the arrival of a narcissistic reality show host who lacks any empathy, who pathologically lies, who had bankrupted dozens of companies, assaulted women, engaged in blatant racism, and thrived on financial manipulation of loans and balance sheets to build an empire based on massive foreign debt— and who said the things that “ordinary” working white men wanted to hear— and you have the perfect storm.
Science fiction writers have been correct about most predictions since the genre was invented. We built flying machines, have gone to the moon, there are personal computers, and every plague/pandemic movie ever made starts with a nation’s leader ignoring the warnings of scientists.
Trump received these warnings, but he chose to “trust his gut” and continue to pander to the Fox News crowd, completely ignoring the advice, recommendations, urging, and eventual screams of the scientific community. He actually mocked them.
Writer and scientist Isaac Asimov once said, “There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.’”
But it is not.
Forrest Brakeman
In our current situation, ignorance will kill millions. This is not a conspiracy theory. The scientists are correct. This is the worst time in our history to have someone in charge who only cares about himself, obsesses about the stock market, is only concerned with his image, and is incapable of critical thinking.
Now is the time to listen to the experts. Stay home. Avoid crowds. Practice social distancing. Hunker down and ride this out. You can stay out of the bars for a couple months. That won’t kill you. The alternative may. Listen to them.
Then, when this crisis finally passes, and we have to pick up the shattered remains of our economy, rebuild what is left of our 401Ks, and reintroduce ourselves to our community, that will be the time to pick a leader who reads, listens, researches, cares more about the people that make up this nation instead of his own ratings, and who we can trust to lead us through the next emergency without scaring the living crap out of us and tanking the stock market.
Someone who can think critically.
Although this particular situation is unfamiliar to us because of the intensity and severity, we will do this because we are Americans. We rise to the occasion. Already states are taking the lead in enacting the proper protocols and procedures to try and halt the spread of the virus, because they consulted with, and took the advice of, the experts. We are doing this not because of our president, but in spite of him. Because it is how we will get through this.
In the meantime, if you hear of where to get any toilet paper…
Excellent piece. I was self isolating due to recent travel when I learned that at least one person tested positive on test for Covid-19 at both the resort I stayed with family in Hawai’i and on flight home, so now I’m in self-quarantine. My son’s girlfriend has some of symptoms of virus but has been unable to get testing done in Oregon because no testing is available so she’s treating symptoms and working from home while consulting with her DR. We’re doing the best we can.
I have a “to do list” a mile long that may be shorter after being alone for several weeks! I check in with my son daily and my 86 year old Mom every other day with updates. She is also under quarantine since she lives in a long term care home. She is obsessed with the news and every death though, of course, the majority are on her cohort. I limit my news intake to trusted resources and no more than 2-3 hours a day though like a train wreck it is hard not to get my time hijacked.
When we have gotten past this crisis then we need some analysis of what to do to prevent or mitigate the next pandemic since there will be one. Kudos to all the medical professionals in both State government and local governments, as well as private sector, who have taken lead to make our communities safe, and glad Federal professionals are finally being consulted and allowed to do what they are trained to do.
Stay healthy and stay positive. Enjoy the sunshine and get some Vitamin D.
Thank you Shelley. Good luck with quarantine and my best to your family and friends. Hopefully, when we get through this – and we will – we are never caught this unprepared again.
Who is this mythical presidential candidate?? Biden?? 🤣🤣🤣
Really good article, Forrest. I am actually proud of my state government for taking steps the Feds were afraid to, and of the local businesses who are doing everything they can to accommodate people. Everyday people are helping others while they are shut in. It is community. But I will not forget the lack of response from this president or the people that support him, still. How incredibly myopic. You can stay true to your ideals without supporting an incompetent.
Thank you Larry. I actually witnessed a “horde” of people at a local store take charge of a potentially dangerous situation. A lone clerk went to the backroom to bring out a pallet of toilet paper, and the crowd organized themselves into an orderly line and self-commanded “everybody gets one pack only until everyone has one pack.” I felt hope 😉
Not to get all pro-boomer here at Boomer Cafe, but Wrong was Wrong back then. Choosing to be scientifically wrong didn’t make it an opinion you were entitled to. Schools would fail you. You wanted to graduate, you learned Facts and to know what was Fact and what was Stupid was where Critical Thinking comes in. So we had to have the ability to think critically.
Great article, well written.
Thank you Chuck for getting all boomer on Boomer! I agree with you that “back in the day” science was considered the high water mark. Repeatedly tested, peer reviewed, and corrected when errors were found. The goal of science has always been to get it right. It is a grotesque distortion of the educational process to place science on the same plane as belief.
couldn’t agree more. Also thanks for pointing out how a good portion of the responsibility for the dumbing down of America belongs to Fox News, “…nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.’ ”
Thanks for being a Boomer That Thinks as strange as it is to have to say that.
I came here looking to speak/post with other boomers like myself…However sadly, it’s just the typical hateful leftist propaganda…really surprised me…….Fox news is the only news source that actually is not afraid to post the truth.
So dear folks…hate me as a conservative…hate our wonderful president…I could care less. I will be moving on to a site that actually has a positive spin and wants to see our country made great again, not the hate rhetoric of the anti american left……Trump 2020. I won’t be back.
Robert,
Before you go, let me say that I believe you are incorrect about people other than Trump-lovers. But here’s a question… why is it that the right wingers use the same overworked words to describe their disdain for the left? Words like “hateful leftist,” “snowflake,” etc.
I would disagree with you about Fox News with all of its blonde sexy woman readers. Fox News is more of a propaganda factory than Russia Today. RT at least hides its agenda by delivering both sides but Fox News is all about Trump.
Good luck in your life.
JL
Robert,
You say that you “came here looking to speak/post with other boomers” like yourself. What’s stopping you? There are many conservative opinions expressed on this site as well as others. So, what’s up? Did you just want to write that and walk away in your own world of self-pity? Why not speak out?!
Ruth
Nailed it Forrest.
Thank you Shandell. I will now nickname you Dell if you don’t mind. Please be safe out there.
Haters are always going to hate. Too bad you can’t see the good in everyone.
Not sure what you mean, Bob. See my response to Larry above.
Excellent writing. I would only add that the absence of leadership IS the crisis. On top of the crisis.
Thank you Alex. Crisis on top of a crisis. That is spot on.
What? No comments from any Fox news watching right wingers? I know they are out there, and I’d like to hear their side of the argument, but I’m afraid they’re all hiding for cover lost and confused. Fox news first said this was all a hoax and a Dem conspiracy, then pivoted and said to take things seriously. Which is it?
As a nation, we need to move science back to the highest priority, and separate the real news media from the sensationalist, fear-mongering, conspiracy theory outlets that masquerade as news.
Not sure what you mean, Bob. See my response to Larry above.
The school I teach at had been rolling out an online system for teaching when this went down ; we learned what we needed fast. At least I still have my part time job. Excellent essay, Forrest. Boomer Nation listens.
Thank you Andy. How fortuitous that you’re school is so forward thinking. I also have a side gig – I coach women’s softball at a private high school and they were very prepared and transitioned quickly to online group chat style learning.
Absolutely spot on… I’d just been bemoaning (love that verb) the decline in critical thinking. I am less concerned about the Stable Genius than I am the millions who have yet to catch on how they’ve been “had.” Here in Josephine County, Oregon–a very red spot in a blue state– there are some local chat-rooms that would make your hair stand on end…
That is the most terrifying part. And I don’t have that much hair left to stand on end.
Forrest,
You’ve gotten good commentary…
While we have all had a bit of fun at the expense of Fox News, it is only fair to say that the process of undoing the New Deal was well under way when the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 were voted. These reforms along with NAFTA and Right-to-Work gutted the labor and social gains of the thirties, and especially, New Deal restrictions on the influence of money in American public affairs. The situation is now reversed; We “New Deal Liberals” are in the position of “conserving” the gains won over a century ago by our parents and grandparents, while the near term views of “libertarian” conservatives are the ones dominating the airwives. The rest all seems like chatter.