America Together: Uplifting images of Americans pulling together during coronavirus pandemic
Every day and in every community, the coronavirus pandemic is bringing out the best in Americans. Take a look at some inspiring images of Americans pulling together in a time of crisis.
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Pandemics are filled with paradoxes. Paradoxes such as we need to come together – while remaining six feet apart. I have nothing but confidence in the American people. But we have to be constantly informed about what we must do together to properly mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
We crave answers and reassurances, not excuses and accusations. This sort of event should bring out the best in us. And it most certainly should bring out the “best of the best” in our leaders.
Americans support their leaders in times of crisis and, accordingly, President Trump recently received higher marks for his handling of the pandemic. Following 9/11, the approval ratings for President George W. Bush peaked at 92 percent. But Bush’s approval ratings then tumbled to record lows after his initial mishandling of Hurricane Katrina.
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In terms of public support, will this moment be a Katrina, for Donald Trump, or a 9/11? The answer to this question is partially in the president’s hands. The public’s response to him will be determined by his ongoing response to this national emergency.
A crisis can be a time of renewal for a nation and its leaders. We don’t ask our leaders to get everything consistently right. But we do demand that they get consistently better. This moment in history is an opportunity for Donald Trump to win the confidence of all Americans so a majority finally believes in him. But to win people’s confidence, he needs to be a consistent speaker of truth.
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White House daily briefings on the pandemic shouldn’t be full of half-truths, misrepresentations and wishful thinking. At the very least, valuable time is wasted when other members of the coronavirus response team have to “clarify” what the president said.
This is not a time to assign blame for past mistakes. It’s a time to make up for lost time. The best way to do that is to move forward without handwringing over not being further along.
It’s most emphatically a time to put an end to ongoing mistakes. We dare not spend our time saying, “Should’ve done this, should’ve done that.” But, we absolutely must demand those things we need “right now,” such as wearing face masks in public, more ventilators in the hot spots, and the enforcement of health orders prohibiting gatherings in crowded places.
Until we get people back on their feet, we need to make up our minds that we’re going to need more stimulus packages.
Additionally, to speed the market’s recovery, we need continuing bipartisanship support in Congress. And we surely must “get woke” to the reality that the best way to heal the markets is to stop the spread of this deadly virus.
It doesn’t take an economist or an epidemiologist to figure out what our economy needs now or in the future. It needs an end to this health crisis as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The whole of the U.S. economy is in the same fix as the sick worker who doesn’t get sick pay. The only way for her or him to start earning again is to get better. Similarly, the only way to get the economy working again is to end the public health crisis.
Of course, our sick worker’s life would be a lot better if the healing would come quicker; if she gets sick pay. But, it’ll be harder to get better if she can’t afford the doctor’s bill, and a place to live and heal, and food for recuperation and nourishment. Unquestioningly, this economy will be a lot better off if the recently passed stimulus grants see us through to the end of the pandemic.
Until we get people back on their feet, we need to make up our minds that we’re going to need more stimulus packages. With work almost universally halted, we must support the health care sector, underwrite the American worker and save small businesses.
As we’ve heard, we’re all in this together.
Finally, let us remember that our health officials are on the front lines. Let’s not complicate their jobs, whether we are young and impulsive or any age weary with the tedium of an elusive end and unending isolation.
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We all have something to do in this crisis; we can help each other.
We’ve been through worse. The last time we had a crisis where the entire nation, where every family, was daily focused on the nation’s efforts to survive – to win and thrive – was during World War II.
COVID-19 threatens us as a nation, so we must respond as a nation. Usually, it’s a city or region that needs help and we all pitch in to help them. But this time, we all need help. It’s up to each of us — to help all of us. That makes it harder to do, but more important we do so. The safety of the family comes first.
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If any of our leaders fail, the citizens themselves will step up, like the factory owners who have voluntarily begun production of medical masks.
We’re in a position where we want to change tomorrow forever. We can use this common threat to forge common bonds. We can resolve to work with our fellow neighbors and revive the national family that made us great.