We are at war.
There is a reason we’ve had to sacrifice so much to shelter in place: it’s the only weapon we were left with to fight COVID-19 after months of dithering and denial. Now we have two enemies, the pandemic and the singular voice of white hate sparked by an extremist wing nut media.
The pandemic’s goal is to spread, grow stronger and kill. Extremist groups work to spark the flames of hate that flash into division, destruction and violence. Whether it is the denial of the pandemic, armed militia groups storming state capitals or the murder of an innocent young man whose only crime was jogging while black, hate continues to do its job.
We must learn that we are fighting a war that requires unity and sacrifice. To win this war we must all help each other as best we can and share in that sacrifice. It won’t be enough to build a postwar stone memorial to the fallen nurses, doctors and countless other front-line workers who have died in this war against COVID-19. We must be a unified people that acts now and is utterly deaf to the voices of fear and hate.
