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World-wide pandemics are nothing new. The world is paying attention now because we are in the middle of yet another one. This one is an enemy we knew would come, but did little to prepare for.
Lockdown for the United States began on March 23rd, 2020. The "year of vision" quickly became one that was suddenly so cloudy we could not see a clear way out. Questions quickly swirled among citizens about how we could not have known the seriousness behind the deadly COVID-19 spread before it got out of hand?
There have been many viruses throughout the ages, but the one most resembling today's was what American's called "The Spanish Flu" of 1918. The word "Spanish" is in parenthesis because historians are unclear whether the disease even got its start in any Latin countries. It is widely believed to have started right here in the United States at a military base during the time of World War 1. An army private on a Kansas military base exhibited signs of the flu, and by the end of the day, 100 soldiers on the same base had fallen ill as well.
When it was all said and done, 500 million people were infected world wide, and the death toll was approximately 54 million. This was a third of the world's population at the time. It is known as the deadliest virus in recent history, and even then, the American government was eager to get back to what they believed to be "normal."
Before the Corona virus breakout, the world knew of the seriousness a virus like the flu could cause, but its a definite possibility that they thought our government, the CDC, and modern technology had a better handle on it. There was a quarantine back then as well, and people became restless with time not spent making money to support their families, and being confined to their homes. Not only that, but businesses struggled to stay afloat, and the economy suffered tremendously.
The affect of the "Spanish Flu" on the American economy may have even been a contributing factor to the Great Depression in the early 20th century. After all, in order to keep the economy stimulated, workers have to work, earn money, and then pour that money back into society so our country can continue to operate successfully.
Life today is reflecting history, not only in the rapid spread of the disease, and the rising death toll, but also in the government's eagerness to save the economy. Trey Hollingsworth, a Republican government official, has been reported to have said that he'd much rather save the American economy than to save more lives because it was the "lesser of two evils." And now, just as then (in 1918) government is getting set to reopen businesses previously closed during quarantine, at limited access.
The fear is, will our outcome be the same? Will the virus mutate in this reopening and affect even more people than it did at the beginning? It all remains to be seen. America's death toll has already surpassed the projected number, and during the time of the "Spanish Flu" government noticed the curve start to flatten, got excited, open the country before the virus totally went away, and lost in greater mass than before.
We are now in a position where history is repeating itself, and we have not learned from it. How can an economy be stimulated if its workers are sick, or dead? A warning in the words of Sir Winston Churchill should not be taken lightly in this case. "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end, but it is perhaps the end of the beginning." We are just getting started. March 23rd, 2020 to now was only the practice run.
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