A Short Note on the Pandemic #11

On the fourth Sunday, March 22, 2020, many mega-churches worshipped remotely. Some still defied the laws of man and gathered in their solemn sanctuaries to receive the bread of life.

Towards the end of the day, the national leader trotted out the administrative team working to contain and combat the coronavirus attacking the country from coast to coast. The leader wasting very little time, got to the heart of his management of this crisis.

“I gave up a lot of money when I decided to run for President,” he said, adding that he does not receive payment from the national treasury as President. Then the leader waxes boldly about his billions of dollars in his possession.

Talking about his billions was the leader’s way of explaining why Americans should be happy that he is in charge of managing a pandemic that could wipe out a significant number of citizens before the scheduled General Election on November 3, 2020.

After all, as the leader quipped two days ago: “What do you have to lose?”

And the people said, “Our paychecks and our lives.”

But that is nothing that should bother a man with billions in the bank. The leader said he would not use the authority granted by Congress last week to nationalize corporations to ramp up the production of medical supplies needed in the war on Covid-19. He was all set to do it until corporate executives pushed back, arguing they did not want to be under a government mandate to ramp up production.

During the presser, the leader seemed gleefully pleased that his Republican nemesis Mitch Romney had tested positive for the coronavirus. Such a display of angst for a political rival’s health condition is typical of his leadership style, as we saw during the period Senator John McCain’s family were enduring his last illness. Just the stewardship America needs in a day of crisis.

Meanwhile, 32,000 people nationwide have contacted the disease, and New Zealand has raised its risk level to 3 (a heightened risk that the condition is uncontained). New Zealand will increase the risk level to the highest level possible on Wednesday at midnight (risk level 4, likely that the disease is unrestrained). On Wednesday, New Zealand will restrict all outdoor activities for four weeks.

Harold Michael Harvey is the author of Freaknik Lawyer: A Memoir on the Craft of Resistance. He is a Past President of the Gate City Bar Association. He is the recipient of Gate City’s R. E. Thomas Civil Rights Award, which he received for his pro bono representation of Black college students arrested during Freaknik celebrations in the mid to late 1990s. An avid public speaker, contact him at hmharvey@haroldmichaelharvey.com.