“And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country.” — President John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917 – 1963)
Editor-In-Chief, Chester “Trip” Buckenmaier III, MD, COL (ret.), MC, USA
My editorials for U.S. Medicine are rarely challenging to produce. I certainly appreciate the outlet and the opportunity to comment on issues of general interest to the federal medicine community. Admittedly, I have struggled more this month than any month before to produce something meaningful. I understand that you may disagree with my opinions. My goal is to stimulate more profound thoughts on the issues I cover. I work with the best medical information available. I work hard to keep my opinions between the left and right boundaries with facts. The idea of “alternative facts” or science based on faith instead of empirical evidence is an anathema to me regarding the practice of medicine. I feel it is my duty and obligation to advise my patients regarding their health based on the best science available, free (as much as possible for any human being) of my own biased belief system or political bent. This has been my approach for years now, and it has served me well in generating this material. Unfortunately, my bitter disappointment regarding the U.S. response as a country to the COVID-19 pandemic and the delta variant has destroyed my objectivity regarding this issue. I fear I have failed U.S. Medicine readers this month.
My family has served this country proudly for generations. We have as much right as anyone to stand tall when the national anthem is played. Despite our country’s missteps and misdeeds, I have always been confident that our society would learn from these errors and continue to form a more perfect union. This simple faith I hold for our society has been significantly tested these past few months. I desperately did not want to write another editorial regarding our response to the pandemic. Events make that impossible. Like so many Americans, I am tired of the pandemic, I am tired of writing about it. Notwithstanding our collective fatigue, the toll in human life this pandemic is extracting from our society must not be ignored.
As I write this, COVID-19 has killed at least 621,254 people and infected about 36.6 million in the United States since last January, according to data by Johns Hopkins University.1 In terms of death, we are experiencing a 9/11 disaster every three days. On a positive note, the medical science response to the pandemic has been historic in its success. New vaccines, new therapies and new approaches to controlling the pandemic have been developed at an incredible rate. The world is at once awed by our scientific prowess and, at the same time, baffled by our irrational approach to dealing with this pandemic. Incredibly, our government has provided a vaccine for every eligible American, yet much of our population remains unvaccinated. Desperate to provide vaccinations for their populations, other countries must think our society has collectively lost its mind. As our hospitals fill with ever-younger COVID-19 patients, most of whom are unvaccinated, we spend our time in many states yelling at each other concerning our right not to vaccinate, wear a mask or have our children wear a mask in school. Our healthcare workers risk everything, including their own family’s health, to care for COVID-19 patients. Yet, many state governors are threatening school superintendents trying to protect the children in their schools with simple mask mandates. This politics of death has shaken my faith in our country like never before.
I really have nothing positive to say regarding this situation. My wife and I have redoubled our efforts through community meetings and interactions with our patients to educate people regarding the appropriate, science-based response to this pandemic. Our actions, sadly, are often thwarted by the pervasive misinformation being spread by those with purely political agendas. I hope U.S. Medicine readers will redouble their efforts to present the federal medicine community with facts regarding this pandemic, as I have called for in many prior editorials.
I wish more Americans understood that getting a vaccination or wearing a mask is not about the individual; it is about those around you. These simple acts demonstrate a love of country, family and a proper understanding of freedom and required obligations and responsibilities. I recognize this editorial is short, but I tire of this rant. So I will leave you with the best comment this week from former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, “Yeah, you have the freedom to wear no mask, but you know something? You’re a schmuck for not wearing a mask.” I could not agree more.
- An interactive web-based dashboard to track COVID-19 in real time Dong, Ensheng et al. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Volume 20, Issue 5, 533 – 534 Published:February 19, 2020 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30120-1
