On Friday morning, I made a conscious decision to skip my usual 4:30 a.m. check of the news highlights. Our alarm went off around 8:00 a.m. We had a busy day ahead and needed to get an early start. The details of the pending sale of our home and pending purchase of land to build our dream home had at least temporarily pushed any concerns about world events out of my head. As I walked to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee, Christine yelled something to me from the bedroom. It sounded like she said Trump tested positive. What? Trump and Melania have tested positive for COVID-19.
Before that thought even fully registered, I found myself holding onto the kitchen counter with both hands laughing uncontrollably. Then as fast as it started, I stopped laughing. My mind shifted. No, this is bullshit. This is another lie to deflect the press away from the issues we should be talking about 30 days before the election. Just like that, from intense laughter to anger.
I poured a cup of coffee and headed for the office. I turned on the TV and checked my email for the link to Dr. Heather Cox Richardson’s daily edition of “Letters from an American.” The article laid out a summary of the events that had unfolded over night. By all accounts, it was true. But many were questioning it just as I was. Stock market futures had fallen over 400 points as a result of the news. I immediately wondered how many congressmen and senators had dumped money into the stock market that morning. Easy profits to be earned when the president miraculously recovers in a few days. I cursed the fact that I wasn’t in a position to buy in.
As I listened to the news I clicked into Facebook; almost always a mistake in a time like this. There was one of those memes that gets copied and pasted over and over again. “If you are so full of hate to wish the President or others dead after getting COVID, please remove me from your friend list…” On some of those same timelines, only days ago, some were supportive of the actions of Kyle Rittenhouse. Amazing.
As Christine and I went from one place to another, we tuned in to the news on SiriusXM. More and more officials from Trump’s inner circle were announcing the results of their Covid-19 test. We listened to Chris Wallace’s interview on Fox as he urged American’s to take the virus serious. The news kept coming in. As the day progressed, the media began to pick up on the many well-wishes that were being expressed. Joe Biden tweeted his and Jill’s well wishes to the the president and First Lady. Then the Biden campaign announced that they were suspending all negative campaign ads.
As the day slipped into the evening I began to wonder why am I so indifferent and skeptical of the news that the President of the United States, and other officials have tested positive for COVID-19. I don’t wish him or anyone else to suffer or die, but I can’t muster any sympathy. My parents raised me to be better than that. I really want to care; I want to feel something. Maybe if I dig a little deeper? No, sorry; nothing.
My locker room thoughts. I’m not proud of them.
Notes
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-1-2020
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/02/business/media/chris-wallace-trump-coronavirus.html
Closing lines derived from “My Give a Damn’s Busted” by Jo Dee Messina. https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/7580061/Jo+Dee+Messina/My+Give+a+Damn%27s+Busted