{"id":83742,"date":"2020-03-21T11:20:57","date_gmt":"2020-03-21T17:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=83742"},"modified":"2020-03-22T20:56:48","modified_gmt":"2020-03-23T02:56:48","slug":"act-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/act-now.html","title":{"rendered":"Act Now!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Death<\/a>
The theatrical poster for \u201cIndependence Day\u201d (1996), which I believe that I\u2019m employing here in a manner that is compatible with principles of fair use.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I was so impressed by these two (somewhat lengthy) articles, and I regard them as so urgently important, that I\u2019ve signed the accompanying petition and I\u2019m citing them here again \u2014 and am sending them to my senators, my congressman, my state senator, my state representative, and my governor:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCoronavirus: Why You Must Act Now: Politicians, Community Leaders and Business Leaders: What Should You Do and When?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCoronavirus: The Hammer and the Dance: What the Next 18 Months Can Look Like, if Leaders Buy Us Time\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

By way of stark contrast, see this article about a surprisingly large number of thoughtless fools who endanger themselves and, ultimately and even more significantly, put their families and others around them at much greater risk: \u00a0\u201c\u2018If I get corona, I get corona\u2019: Coronavirus pandemic doesn\u2019t slow spring breakers\u2019 party.\u201d<\/a> \u00a0I can\u2019t help but think of that scene from the 1996 movie Independence Day<\/em>, in which a large group of young morons party atop a tall building \u2014 probably in either New York or Los Angeles \u2014 to welcome the alien spaceship hovering above them, and who are promptly obliterated by a death ray from that spaceship. \u00a0At least, though, they had the defense that they didn\u2019t know<\/em>\u00a0that the aliens were lethal. \u00a0The spring break partiers in Florida and elsewhere don\u2019t have that excuse.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s not just the immature and unthinking who aren\u2019t taking COVID-19 seriously and who are, thereby endangering the lives of others and themselves:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFaith Over Fear? No, It\u2019s Political Ideology that Keeps People Unafraid of COVID-19:\u00a0Before the coronavirus hit, conservative Protestant churchgoers were least concerned about a future pandemic.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I also like this article:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDeregulate to Help the Private Sector Fight Coronavirus: Regulations stand in the way of a quick private-sector response to the coronavirus.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And this one:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMitt Romney says U.S. should look to South Korea \u2014 not Italy \u2014 to stem coronavirus spread\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, while we\u2019re at it, how about these:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCoronavirus Is the Chinese Government\u2019s Curse Upon the World\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCoronavirus Is More Fodder for Chinese Propaganda:\u00a0The media\u2019s obsession with proving Trump is racist because he calls it the \u2018Chinese coronavirus\u2019 is perfectly in sync with the Communists\u2019 propaganda effort.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Media\u2019s China Syndrome:\u00a0COVID-19\u2019s latest symptom: Racist media accuse Trump of racism\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And this one, I think, is worthy of attention:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPandemic Federalism:\u00a0Large parts of the nation\u2019s response can be undertaken only by the states.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible, of course \u2014 and, in the longer term, it\u2019s extremely likely \u2014 that medical science will find a cure:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world\u2019s fastest supercomputer identified chemicals that could stop coronavirus from spreading, a crucial step toward a treatment\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Perhaps, too, the weather will help us, at least in the northern hemisphere:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNew study says \u2018high temperature and high relative humidity significantly reduce\u2019 spread of COVID-19\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s conclude on a really<\/em> positive note. \u00a0And this article even has a connection to Brigham Young University:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHow the Utah community and Taysom Hill stepped in to help a local business during the coronavirus pandemic\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know that the expression was peculiarly his, but I remember President Harold B. Lee saying, years ago, that the gospel is \u201cto\u00a0comfort the afflicted\u00a0and to\u00a0afflict the [comfortable].\u201d \u00a0I harbor similar sentiments now with regard to COVID-19 \u2014 or, should I say, toward the Chinese coronavirus: \u00a0We needn\u2019t panic (yet), so the afflicted should take some comfort. \u00a0But a great many who seem very comfortable right now really need to look at the numbers and the reality. \u00a0Or things may get much, much worse.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 I was so impressed by these two (somewhat lengthy) articles, and I regard them as so urgently important, that I\u2019ve signed the accompanying petition and I\u2019m citing them here again \u2014 and am sending them to my senators, my congressman, my state senator, my state representative, and my governor: \u00a0 \u201cCoronavirus: Why You […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8031,9108,9063,782],"class_list":["post-83742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid-19","tag-social-distance","tag-utah"],"yoast_head":"\nAct Now!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    I was so impressed by these two (somewhat lengthy) articles, and I regard them as so urgently important, that I've signed the accompanying\" \/>\n<meta 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