I want to scream out loud: “Wake up people, we’re circling the drain!”

Does anyone notice the state of our country, the state of the world that we are living in? The world is torn apart by something we cannot even see. Millions of lives have been lost; others who survive the COVID attack are frequently left with long-term side effects, most of which are not yet remedied by medical science. We are spoiled here in America. Always wanting the easy way out. Not wanting to be inconvenienced in any fashion. Believing statements from individuals with no scientific training whatsoever. For them, a mask mandate is a form of freedom suppression rather than a life-saving technique. We have in many ways, lost the ability to work as a cohesive unit unless we are facing extinction squarely in the face.

One nation, under God, indivisible. A pledge split apart by a killer microbe. A spikey ball of destruction, rolling over the land, rolling over the world. It attacks the mind, the body, the spirit. They say the new version is not so bad. Tell that to the sick who are seeking out non-existent space in hospitals well past full occupancy. Triage, triage, see the worst first. Others have to be put on hold until there is staff available to see them.

Do we see the writing on the wall? Mistrust abounds. Guidance from the CDC is changing every few days, leading to confusion among health care professionals and the general public. Whose words do you believe? Men and women of science, our doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists: What do they know? They are consumed with saving the living before they succumb to the variant.

Instead, attention has turned to the “soothsayers in the darkness of space,” spouting half-truths and misguided statements. Why? Because it’s the easier way out. These individuals cry out, “Freedom for the people, let’s party, let’s spread the joy.”

Unfortunately, for some, they end up lying on a gurney, gasping for air, crying out in remorse as they stare reality in the face. For others, it’s too late; the “party” is over. Herd immunity is gained one way or another. Thinning of the herd by natural selection: the weak, the old, the vulnerable, the foolish, and the misinformed. But what about our children, the innocent children who are falling victim to the virus and are in our hospitals? Children, knowing no better, doing only what their parents tell them. They are now victims; they are now suffering.

When will this all end?

Doctors and nurses are falling over in exhaustion. They are weeping tears of desperation for the loss of life they see before them. They shout out, “Why won’t you listen, please get vaccinated?” to all those whose minds might be changed. And so days, weeks, months, and yes, years have passed by with records of COVID death and case totals being broken and broken again. The death mound grows as the sheep follow their shepherd to oblivion.

The clouds will someday part. The sun will again shine upon us. And the two sides will stand facing each other. Which side will you be on?

One nation, under God, indivisible.

Words that are spoken, but go unheard. Is it me against you? I certainly hope not.

Michele Luckenbaugh is a patient advocate. 

Image credit: Shutterstock.com