My anger right now is so intense I can taste it. I can taste it! According to science, that probably means I don’t have COVID-19. That’s the good news. The bad news is that over 250,000 Americans are dead, and almost 12 million Americans have the virus. Why? Why is America being hit so hard by this virus compared to the rest of the world? Short answer: American hubris.

Here’s the even shorter answer. We’re stupid. Collectively, we’re so damn stupid we can’t be trusted to do what’s in our own best interest. Because FREEDOM!

Someone, and I can’t find the source, said, “Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom. It’s adolescence.” But that selfish, entitled, truncated version of “freedom” is America now. We are simply egotistical. We are devoid of responsibility. Especially personal responsibility. “Wearing a mask is a personal choice!” No, it’s not. It’s a common sense, common decency, almost biblical (do unto others) response to a deadly pandemic. But, no, the fake patriot drowns out reason with “I don’t have to wear a mask if I don’t want to.” Stomp your feet and wave your flag, asshole.

Let’s be clear. The house is on fire. Our house is on fire. And it’s killing people because that’s what happens when your house is on fire and 350 million people live inside.

My wedding was scheduled for December 10th. Rather than ignore the fires raging in the kitchen, living room, garage, basement, bedrooms, dining rooms, bathrooms, and porch, we’ve done the responsible thing and canceled it. We’re not alone, and we’re not happy, but we’re doing the right thing to protect those we love. We did everything right and still have to cancel because those who’ve built their homes atop Dunning-Kruger’s Mount Stupid can’t be bothered to do the right thing. In short, America got bored with doing the right thing. Nobody told the virus. And now there will be no wedding reception. Thanks, you selfish twits.

The part that angers me is the fact that it didn’t have to be this way. We know what causes the virus. We know how it is transmitted. But we’re too damn stupid or just so damn arrogant to do what is necessary to save our own lives. How ridiculous does that sound? America seeks to spread democracy throughout the world. Well, the world is watching, and from their less impacted perches, American democracy looks like petulance and hubris in the face of a virus that doesn’t give a shit about our politics or “freedoms.”

So how do we negotiate with someone who doesn’t “believe” in facts or science? You can’t. There is no debate in America anymore. What we call polarization is a breakdown between those that see science and reason as evident and indisputable and those that choose not to “believe” in it. Children believe in the Easter Bunny. Adults are supposed to know better. And science isn’t the Easter Bunny. Science doesn’t ask for or demand your faith. Science is real whether you choose to believe in it or not. Same with the virus.

But here we are, in an America fractured politically. One side is called socialist because they seek equality and justice, science, and reason. The other side is called Republican because millions of uneducated twits and plutocratic Ayn Rand acolytes are convinced that an adolescent, orange narcissist speaks for them. He doesn’t. 

And the virus doesn’t care.