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The Darkest Time
We are entering the darkest time in modern American history. In the next six weeks, tens of thousands of people are going to die. We are in the second wave and are entering this from a very high baseline. Experts warned us repeatedly about this on TV, newspapers, and other media. The fact that a good number of Americans are ignoring this is troubling. Because the same experts have told us that social distancing and wearing masks will reduce the inevitable death toll. Let’s be clear here, many Americans are incapable, or unwilling, to put others before themselves. The virus reveals a culture that is sick, perhaps dying. This is one where the values of individuality have completely overwhelmed any values of a civic society. We are no longer about community and what makes us whole. This is also a culture that rejects expertise, science, or anything else that may conflict with the role of the individual. In other words, the individual is king.
it is also a dangerous view with extreme skepticism of all, including value systems. This is nihilism at its core, and the worst in this are actually members of the far-right and the religious right. They have a god, yes, and they are ultimately destructive of all they claim to believe in. Family, even life itself is at risk. Because the values we are witnessing reject expertise and science v