"We're All In This Together". Really?

In these challenging (difficult, unprecedented, uncertain, trying, etc.) times, we decided it's time for some random thoughts on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  Remember, this can't last forever, right?

• First, the numbers as of May 1.  Around the world, there have been 3.2 million confirmed cases of coronavirus, 234 thousand are dead, and more than one million have recovered.  In the United States, there have been more than one million confirmed cases, 64 thousand have died, and 134 thousand have recovered.
• Despite predictions from people who should know these things that the virus could last for another year or two, state and federal leaders are making plans to reopen their economies in an attempt to get back to some form of "normalcy".  Millions of jobs have been lost due to the "stay at home" mandates, forcing most to work from home, and there's no guarantee of returning to their place of employment once they're allowed to. Some people are rebelling against these closures, whether or not they've been egged on by President Donald Trump as a way to gain political advantage in an election year, or jamming public places when they're not supposed to.
• Speaking of Trump, the GOP seems to be worried that the antics of the President during this crisis might cost them the Senate and the White House come November. Whether it's turning your daily press briefings into an unwatchable version of your traveling road show, not taking coronavirus seriously in the weeks leading up to the pandemic, defunding the World Health Organization because you think they're covering up for China, or suggesting that drinking bleach and disinfectants might kill the virus (which does nothing but provide employment for poison control hotlines), the Republicans have a right to be concerned.  But it's been four years, and there's not much they can do about it now.
• Now that Bernie Sanders is out of the picture, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden can bask in the warmth of belated endorsements from party heavyweights like Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, his former boss Barack Obama and Sanders himself while sitting in exile watching Trump stumble.  But there is the small problem of refuting claims from former staff assistant Tara Reade that she was sexually assaulted when Biden was a U.S. Senator back in 1993.  It won't affect his nomination, but this does leave the voters making a choice between two men who need to social distance themselves from the nearest female they don't personally know.
• Voters are growing more leery of standing in line at their polling places, waiting for their chance to pull the lever.  Especially if the person in front of or behind them shouldn't be there if they're sick.  That's why there's a move to make voting by mail more accessible to everybody in time for this fall's elections. It's a great idea for Democrats.  Not so much for Republicans, who are more interested in restricting the vote to keep their kind in.  There has to be a better way to vote, right?
• In Minnesota, Governor Tim Walz' "stay at home" mandate (which has been extended to May 18) has been mostly successful in keeping the COVID-19 spread and the death rate down compared to other states--it has been mostly confined to senior living facilities.  But cases are bound to spike once testing ramps up as the Governor is under political pressure to open the state's economy.
• The Class of 2020 is becoming a lost generation with schools closed for the duration, except for learning online at home under the watchful eye of parents.  That means no graduation, no proms, no more hanging out with friends, etc. What, pray tell, are you going to say to your future kids and grandkids (should you have any) about this time in your lives?
• As for the rest of us, we should all get used to (A) washing our hands a lot, (B) staying the hell away from each other, and (C) wearing masks in public, if you don't mind looking like a bank robber or a gang member.  Think of the doctors, nurses, so-called "first responders", grocery store attendants, delivery people, pizza drivers and others who bust their butts on the front lines while you sit at home binge-watching Netflix.  It's like the days after 9/11 when soldiers and firefighters were getting all the applause while Muslims, through no fault of their own, were being villified for the actions of a few.

Because we're all in this together.  Right?