Watching the amazing war machine against COVID-19 in the United States in 2021


It's April of 2021, and it's now occurring to me that I'm watching a massive war machine against COVID-19 being deployed here in the United States, and it's just astonishing.

I've never seen the people of the U.S. rally around a popular war, but I know that it happened with World War II. That was the time when a sleeping giant suddenly woke up and created a massive war machine from practically nothing. I've read about it, and in addition to hard-bitten cigar-chomping G.I.s, there were people doing things on the home front. And looking back now it's hard to believe what a desperate fight it was, against an enemy that seemed unstoppable. But we did it.

I will be getting my second dose of the vaccine in about a week, and it's actually kinda underwhelming to just go to Walgreens, sit in a chair, talk about the weather, and get stuck. Of course, that's just a minor front, but last night I got to see something that, if I had grandchildren, I would someday be able to tell them about it. I saw the vaccination setup at the football stadium in Glendale, Arizona during a ride-along with the Woman in my Life. I was there for moral support, that's all, but I'm glad that I got to see it.

No, I don't have photos of it, and even if I did, all that it would look like would be a bunch of cars in rows, moving along between traffic cones. There were people directing traffic, holding clipboards, that sort of thing, and as a massive operation, it just boggled my mind with the logistics. Logistics are like military strategy, something that most people don't even notice, like being sure that there are enough bullets for the rifles, delivered on time. 

Yes, of course there are dissenters, especially here in Arizona. These people tend to believe that COVID-19 is just a hoax, or that's really just an ordinary flu, that sort of thing. But while they tend to be very vocal, especially on social media, they really aren't doing anything to sabotage the effort. I didn't see them trying to block cars, or even standing around with flags protesting. My best guess on this is that the police are there to keep the most dangerous ones away, and most of them just want to be left alone. If and when a proof of vaccination is required for things like travel, these people will mostly just choose to not travel. Every once in a while I see them on TikTok dancing to the song "You'll never see me again...!" and while it makes me sad for them, it makes me happy for the rest of us. It's a big country, and these people can go find some wide-open spaces, and be as socially-distant as they want.

And if you're wondering what to do to support the war effort against COVID-19, you don't have to be up on the front lines. You can avoid spreading misinformation, and you can plant a victory garden.

We have nothing to fear but fear itself!

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