I speak from deep concern.
COVID-19 is an absolutely real disease that absolutely affects real people in our counties, states, country, and world every single day. It was not invented for the US Election. Its effects on the human body have generally not been exaggerated for the sake of impacting an election.
The cure (secluding ourselves and wearing masks for now) is unequivocally not worse than the disease. The disease kills between 1 and 3% of those who bear it. Do not dare to say “only.” These 1-3% are 874,369 image bearers of God worldwide, 78% of which are not in the United States. The people from these countries mostly do not care who gets elected in the US and whether your high school is playing sports or whether you have to wear a mask inside the gas station.
If you live in a county that has has less than one case per month, I completely understand how you feel that the reaction to the global pandemic is ruining your everyday life. This is why I am a strong proponent of government being conducted at the most local level possible. This leads to the feeling that the suffering of wearing masks and canceling events is worse than the disease. Please do not ignore what is happening outside your local community. My own county has watched 120 of its citizens die of this particular illness since April.
There are 17,717,266 people who have survived the disease. Many may never be bothered by it again. However, many will experience complications (blood clots, weakness, shortness of breath) for an unforeseen time period to come.
COVID-19 will more deeply affect communities that are more physically close together and have a higher rate of prior medical conditions. This leads to more cases in blue states than red states, mostly due to population density. It is generally true that Democrats expect the government to do more to stop the spread and Republicans expect government to stop intervening so much (in this issue). This combined effect of blue states being harder-hit and more likely to intervene may lead to the sharper contrast with the red states that have fewer cases per capita and are less likely to restrict activity. It further explains the outrage when red states that are badly affected (Mississippi) under-react. https://bit.ly/3i2Ylq5
I pray for a cure. Could our government “make the vaccine available now?” Yes. It could let us all take whatever drugs we wanted to if they so-chose. I bet there are a lot of people who would let themselves be a test subject for these “vaccines.” There would also be side effects and unexpected impacts of these drugs. There is a testing and approval process for these things which is rocketing forward at great speed. When there is a good vaccine available, it will be made available. The timing of the US election be damned. I fear there is a vocal portion of the population that is clamoring for a vaccine to be made available in the next month that would not take it in the next month if it were made available in the next month.
The disease is not political. The response is political. We have turned an illness that does not care what our opinions may be into another reason to be divided and hateful. This particular tragedy, a tragedy of hatred, has eternal consequence.
What do I want? I want reason to return. Divorce yourself from your favorite politician. Look at data. Look at the biblical love for life and health. Let your decisions come from a place of love, of protecting and caring for widows and orphans, a place of wisdom. If your favorite politician is a fool, do not support them. If your second-, or least-, favorite politician is a fool, do not support them.
Fast and pray.
Michael D. Yates 