May 6, 2020
The Long Haul
Day 48
The silent majority!
It is time to speak up, to speak up loudly. It is time to open your window and scream into the night: “I am mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore.”
No, I am not invoking the words of Howard Beale from the 1976 film “Broadcast News” to issue a clarion-call for an end to quarantine. Just the opposite. We must open slowly, pay attention to the science and listen to the medical experts.
My message. Stay home, wear a mask, respect others. Keep us all safe.
The majority of Americans support the stay-at-home orders and social distancing rules that have kept most of us in our homes for the past six weeks. Most Americans wear masks willingly when they do venture out. Many make their own masks and do what they can to support the front-line medical staff and first responders.
Most Americans have responded admirably to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Some have not.
A noisy, dangerous minority arguing that lives must be sacrificed for jobs, has found an audience in the White House and is driving public policy.
Armed protesters marched on the Michigan statehouse recently demanding that stay at home orders and social distancing rules be lifted. Protesters in Stillwater, Oklahoma threatened violence when a indoor, mask restriction was imposed. It was rescinded a day later, the mayor backpedaling quickly explaining that shopkeepers were being subjected to physical abuse and threats of violence.
Masks are now a hot button issue. Like our president and vice president, the protesters equate masks with weakness. Mostly young men, the protestor’s actions seem to be screaming: “Stand tall if you have a big dick, real men don’t wear masks.”
There is not a real man among them. They are assassins, bio-terrorists. Their actions will kill people as surely as if they fired into a crowd with an AK-47. One super-spreader among them can infect dozens who will infect dozens more leading to deaths and life-long health complications for many who survive.
What about the silent majority? Where are they?
Richard Nixon popularized the term “silent majority” in a speech in 1969 at which he was hoping to rally support for the Vietnam war. Nixon said: “ And so tonight, to you, the silent majority of my fellow Americans — I ask for your support.”
Nixon was misguided. He misread the nation. Americans were tired of a war 8,500 miles away that most felt was not winnable and would ultimately claim 58,000 US lives. The majority was not silent. They were marching loudly on the National Mall, on college campuses and through city streets.
Americans today are tired of people dying needlessly. They do not want to leave their homes before it is safe.
Polling was less sophisticated in the 1960s. Nixon went with his gut, his absolute belief that the war was just.
Polling today is much more precise. And all the polls clearly show that Americans support the decision to shutdown and they want it to stay that way until health officials deem it safe.
Polling done within the week by Navigator Research found that 32 percent of all Americans believed we need stricter social distancing measures, 47 percent said the existing measures were appropriate and only 19 percent wanted them relaxed.
Two-thirds of all Republicans in that poll supported existing or stricter social distancing measures. Only 32 percent said they wanted the rules relaxed.
This information is available on the polling and data analysis site fivethirtyeight.com.
Other polling related to President Trump’s popularity, the direction of the country and Congressional Job Approval as reported daily on the Real Clear Politics site demonstrate that Americans want science and public health, not politics to guide them through the pandemic.
President Nixon was not the first to call for the silent majority to rise up. Silent majority historically has been a euphemism for all those who have died.
As this is being written more than 70,000 Americans have been killed by the Covid-19 virus in just a few months. The disease has claimed almost 260,000 around the globe.
The dead may be silent but they do have a powerful voice. We should listen to them. Not one among them would have willingly traded their lives, so others could devour a Whopper and fries inside a Burger King or spend an afternoon at the beach.
The majority who oppose the “politics before science” policies of the president, vice-president and some governors must be heard. The real minority is very vocal and its voice is ringing out in Washington. Less visible but perhaps even more persuasive are the corporate leaders eager to put profits before lives who are whispering in the president’s ear.
What can we do? How are our message be heard? We can not take to the streets, march on the national mall or rally on statehouse steps.
Protests on social media are an obvious option. Messages that go viral are powerful. Our president is a Twitter champion and love him or hate him, his tweets stir the pot and rally his base. We must step up our online game.
We need to mount a real world campaign as well so I offer a modest proposal.
Every night at 7 p.m. many in New York City, the epicenter of the virus so far, open their windows and play recordings or even sing Frank Sinatra’s anthem “New York, New York” to the streets and neighborhoods below. The ritual has become a symbol of the grit, determination and pride New Yorkers have in their city and its response to the pandemic.
I propose every night at seven we raise our windows and shout to the world;
“I am mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it any more. Stay home. Wear a mask. Keep your distance. We can all survive!”
Be safe!
The Long Haul
Day 48
The silent majority!
It is time to speak up, to speak up loudly. It is time to open your window and scream into the night: “I am mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore.”
No, I am not invoking the words of Howard Beale from the 1976 film “Broadcast News” to issue a clarion-call for an end to quarantine. Just the opposite. We must open slowly, pay attention to the science and listen to the medical experts.
My message. Stay home, wear a mask, respect others. Keep us all safe.
The majority of Americans support the stay-at-home orders and social distancing rules that have kept most of us in our homes for the past six weeks. Most Americans wear masks willingly when they do venture out. Many make their own masks and do what they can to support the front-line medical staff and first responders.
Most Americans have responded admirably to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Some have not.
A noisy, dangerous minority arguing that lives must be sacrificed for jobs, has found an audience in the White House and is driving public policy.
Armed protesters marched on the Michigan statehouse recently demanding that stay at home orders and social distancing rules be lifted. Protesters in Stillwater, Oklahoma threatened violence when a indoor, mask restriction was imposed. It was rescinded a day later, the mayor backpedaling quickly explaining that shopkeepers were being subjected to physical abuse and threats of violence.
Masks are now a hot button issue. Like our president and vice president, the protesters equate masks with weakness. Mostly young men, the protestor’s actions seem to be screaming: “Stand tall if you have a big dick, real men don’t wear masks.”
There is not a real man among them. They are assassins, bio-terrorists. Their actions will kill people as surely as if they fired into a crowd with an AK-47. One super-spreader among them can infect dozens who will infect dozens more leading to deaths and life-long health complications for many who survive.
What about the silent majority? Where are they?
Richard Nixon popularized the term “silent majority” in a speech in 1969 at which he was hoping to rally support for the Vietnam war. Nixon said: “ And so tonight, to you, the silent majority of my fellow Americans — I ask for your support.”
Nixon was misguided. He misread the nation. Americans were tired of a war 8,500 miles away that most felt was not winnable and would ultimately claim 58,000 US lives. The majority was not silent. They were marching loudly on the National Mall, on college campuses and through city streets.
Americans today are tired of people dying needlessly. They do not want to leave their homes before it is safe.
Polling was less sophisticated in the 1960s. Nixon went with his gut, his absolute belief that the war was just.
Polling today is much more precise. And all the polls clearly show that Americans support the decision to shutdown and they want it to stay that way until health officials deem it safe.
Polling done within the week by Navigator Research found that 32 percent of all Americans believed we need stricter social distancing measures, 47 percent said the existing measures were appropriate and only 19 percent wanted them relaxed.
Two-thirds of all Republicans in that poll supported existing or stricter social distancing measures. Only 32 percent said they wanted the rules relaxed.
This information is available on the polling and data analysis site fivethirtyeight.com.
Other polling related to President Trump’s popularity, the direction of the country and Congressional Job Approval as reported daily on the Real Clear Politics site demonstrate that Americans want science and public health, not politics to guide them through the pandemic.
President Nixon was not the first to call for the silent majority to rise up. Silent majority historically has been a euphemism for all those who have died.
As this is being written more than 70,000 Americans have been killed by the Covid-19 virus in just a few months. The disease has claimed almost 260,000 around the globe.
The dead may be silent but they do have a powerful voice. We should listen to them. Not one among them would have willingly traded their lives, so others could devour a Whopper and fries inside a Burger King or spend an afternoon at the beach.
The majority who oppose the “politics before science” policies of the president, vice-president and some governors must be heard. The real minority is very vocal and its voice is ringing out in Washington. Less visible but perhaps even more persuasive are the corporate leaders eager to put profits before lives who are whispering in the president’s ear.
What can we do? How are our message be heard? We can not take to the streets, march on the national mall or rally on statehouse steps.
Protests on social media are an obvious option. Messages that go viral are powerful. Our president is a Twitter champion and love him or hate him, his tweets stir the pot and rally his base. We must step up our online game.
We need to mount a real world campaign as well so I offer a modest proposal.
Every night at 7 p.m. many in New York City, the epicenter of the virus so far, open their windows and play recordings or even sing Frank Sinatra’s anthem “New York, New York” to the streets and neighborhoods below. The ritual has become a symbol of the grit, determination and pride New Yorkers have in their city and its response to the pandemic.
I propose every night at seven we raise our windows and shout to the world;
“I am mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it any more. Stay home. Wear a mask. Keep your distance. We can all survive!”
Be safe!
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