As one grows older, one notices that certain tragic events seem to recur periodically. Happily, with the knowledge bequeathed by age and experience, one can keep these incidents in perspective no matter how dire they seem to be at the time.
For instance, I remember the Asian Flu of 1958, which killed some 116,000 Americans and which, at the time, was about .07 percent of our population. Definitely serious but certainly not the end of the world. Life went on and we did not cower.
Not to forget the Hong Kong Flu of 1968, which killed some 100,000 Americans and which, then, was about 0.05 percent of the population. Again, significant but life continued and we did not cower.
Today, the big killer is the coronavirus, which is constantly in the news and, indeed, should be taken seriously. But, hereby invoking my well-deserved age-related perspective, I wonder just how serious is it? And should we, as a nation, cower before it.
Because it would appear that, in 2020, some 243,000 deaths are attributed to COVID-19 but, given our present population of 331 million people, that would be .07 percent of our population and in keeping with those deaths attributed to these other “gifts from Asia.”
Moreover, it appears to target mostly those with age-related and/other co-morbidities. So, is it necessary to cower this time?
We have never been a nation of “cowerers” — or is that “cowards”? — and I don’t think we are now.
Or, at least, we shouldn’t be …
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