“My mother is not expendable. We will not put a dollar figure on human life,” twitted New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. In an apparent reference to Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s statement that grandparents will gladly sacrifice themselves for the sack of leaving a robust economy to their grandchildren.

For the love of God, is this what the United States of America has come too?

Why can’t we simply cure the damn disease and save the young, the old, and the economy? It seems a no brainer to me, but not to the conservative leadership running the country. To them, it is not about the “Almighty.” It’s about the almighty dollar, the God of greed, consumption, and power. It is money-making at all costs, trim the dead weight of those who built the engine on which the current economy runs. Who in business management cares about people who have given and no longer have the physical capacity to provide any longer?

The captains of industry and trade have found a favorable ear in the White House. The leader of the country said yesterday, March 24, 2020, that he wants to open the country back up to business on Easter Sunday. This position comes in the middle of the 14-day shut-down he imposed eight days ago. The data is incomplete on the effectiveness of the shut-down as there is a week to go before the impact can be accessed.

Scientist and experts are reluctant to go along with the leader because the data from China and Korea suggests that a massive wave of infectious cases are on the horizon.

Nevertheless, the leader is calling for overflowing pews on Easter Sunday morning, which is eighteen-days away. The possibility of massive infections in church sanctuaries is analogous to the recent infections that are now showing up among college kids who took to beaches during spring break a week ago.

Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee canceled the summer Olympic games scheduled for Japan and announced a reset date for the summer of 2021.

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.