If you would’ve told me last Thanksgiving that the world as we knew it would experience changes so huge that a clear paradigm shift was in the works, I would not have easily swallowed your prediction.

As the novel coronavirus has put Planet Earth into its grip, what I can’t comprehend now is how we will return to what we thought to be normal.

First, we have to count the universally unexpected deaths. The losses of mothers, fathers, mates, elders, children, leaders and the uneven deaths of the poor and disadvantaged. Do we view these numbers as hard statistics? Or do we mourn the loss of lives so rudely interrupted by a virus?

My country has truly let me down in its response to this pandemic. At this moment I see the United State of America dead in the water. The engines that keep it running  are drained to the point where the status quo is something we’ll remember, not relive.

It’s my sense that what I’m watching is a combination of foolhardiness, and disbelief that a virus could pull the rug from underneath so many to include both leadership and the impoverished. Leaders can’t seem to make up their minds as to which steps will best lift America off from its economic knees or disallow additional viral spread and preventable deaths. So now it’s become an issue of political divide instead of coming together and lining up the facts, the challenges, and creating a plan.

Tribalism. Clearly, we haven’t walked too far away from the primitive mindset. My tribe is bigger and badder than your wussy-ass tribe! Or my tribe is smarter than your stupid-ass tribe.

Meanwhile folks with no place to turn, that third tribe, continue exposure to Covid-19, lack immediate health care, and are likely already burdened with pre-existing health conditions. So?

Here’s what I glean from bits and pieces of information out there:

•  Jobs in America will not return to previous politically golden numbers. Some industries have taken too hard of a hit to return to previous employment numbers. Other industries have learned that the reduced number of employees have brought up their profit margins. Small businesses will bleed going against the giants that stayed open as essential businesses during this pandemic. And for those that do survive, it will take a while to get manufacturing back up to par to supply these businesses — all assuming that consumer cash flow is hot to spend.
•  Yay! America’s reopened. Toss those ugly libtard masks aside. Social distancing is a socialist hoax. Our guns are bigger than some stupid microscopic virus. Bang! Bang! Party on, dude. Old people like me, so what? We’re gonna die anyway.

(Memo to self: Please remind those folks soaked in conspiracy and politics that the last thing one should do is not assume that a premature death could well be in their future. Besides the hoax-virus that does take out younger people, there are all sorts of accidents just waiting to happen. Let me recall the on the job death of my 28-year-old husband; the automobile and motorcycle deaths of my 26 and 27 year-old-buddies; the surfing accident of an expert athlete before he turned 21 and so on. The grim reaper favors any and all ages. And I haven’t even counted likely military deaths!)

•  The novel coronavirus won’t be tamed until there is a vaccine available for all of us. Of course, there will be those who will decline the vaccination.

I completely understand the need for income and restarting America’s engine. It’s in the no-duh category. Sadly, it’s been politicized and not well thought out. These are two ingredients for failure.

Like the nuns would tell me, put on your thinking cap, Charmaine. I wish our leaders would do the same and shun the need for greed. Let science and the medical professionals do their job, even if it might kick up mud in your face. Man up!

The universal shift is here and operational. How the paradigm will change, I can’t answer. But it will change. Wait, it is changing. People with wise voices and compassionate hearts must be heard, not pushed aside and mocked.

For the moment, I won’t even predict if I’ll even share a family Thanksgiving, as people like me, those of us with chronic immune issues, will have to remain in extreme isolation until this nasty virus marching across the U.S. like Godzilla is put down with a vaccine.