Zeitgeist is a German word meaning the spirit of the age. As Corona continues to ravage America, I can’t help but look around and see a huge disconnect between the Zeitgeist of our time and the leadership as being shown by President Trump which in no way reflect each other.
Over 30 million American’s have lost their jobs as a result of closures across the country designed to halt the spread of Corona. Despite efforts to stem the spread of the virus, as of May 22nd, new cases are around 20,000 a day.
It has been estimated that nearly 42% of these aforementioned jobs will never be coming back. These lost jobs will stem from failing retail stores and the overall lessening in demand for services as consumers become more hesitant to travel, go out to eat and other activities.
This is a pivotal point in time as the job creation in the aftermath of the Great Recession was sluggish and that was 10 years ago. Now, certain segments of the economy will not be coming back making the eventual restoration of low unemployment a more difficult task. During this transition time, as as old industries die, new industries will eventually emerge to employ the surplus labor sack but until that time, times will be tough for those who lost their jobs.
This is a time when foundation on which our society was built is changing, the challenge is to ensure that we are aware of these changes and adapting to meet the new reality.
It should be the government’s role to provide a bridge to overcome these hard times. The 4th Industrial Revolution is coming closer and closer but under President Trump’s leadership, there doesn’t look like much preparation for its eventual arrival let alone for dealing with corona.
Many in Congress would hem and haw that the government can’t afford such lavish measures as $2,400 dollars a month to citizens indefinitely. However, if there is a will, there is a way. We willed ourselves into two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which we managed to pay for but we can’t find a way to invest in our citizens?
One idea would be to raise the corporate income tax from 21%, the current rate which was down from 35% under President Obama while also forcing corporations like Amazon to pay taxes. After all, the company’s success was built on the infrastructure of America which was paid for by taxpayer money. If they draw benefits, they should pay accordingly.
The point is the government should be paying more attention to the needs of its citizens rather than the wants of its corporate citizens. Citizens are struggling to get by while corporate citizens are scheming on that money mission to increase their paper supply.
Instead of using the Pandemic as a means to draw Americans together in order to overcome the obstacle and build a better future as his predecessors have done, President Trump has continued to play politics, laying blame on President Obama and stoking divisiveness.
Instead of offering up his vision of a more perfect union and striving to realize the actualization of his dream, President Trump continues to deny responsibility and play the blame game. When former President Bush spoke in generic terms on the need for America unity, President Trump lashed out at him as if it were a personal attack instead of a call for unity.
In previous times of national crises, America’s Presidents stopped playing politics and instead stepped up to lead the nation in order to bring about their vision of a more perfect Union.
After 9/11, President Bush took the time to unify Americans against the threat posed by Islamic extremists and to combat its ideology, he was determined to spread democracy in The Middle East. During the Great Recession, he took efforts to minimize ripple effects via the bailout.
FDR dealt with the double whammy of the Great Depression and The Second World War- from these crises came the modern American social safety net along with American economic and military preeminence following the conclusion of The Second World War.
President Truman picked up when FDR died and found America and The Soviet Union eyeing each other warily. President Truman used the threat of Soviet domination of Turkey and Greece as a rallying cry to wring more funds from Congress in order to finance America’s efforts to contain the Soviet Union around the world.
Furtherback, Abraham Lincoln used the secession of the South to abolish slavery, create a stronger and more unified Union, oversaw the economic expansion of the United States and generally leave America stronger than when he took over.
Instead of learning from his predecessors, President Trump has so far only sought to use Corona as a means to divide America by stoking the culture wars which have plagued America for the last few decades.
Instead of encouraging people to continue quarantining and wearing masks and taking other basic steps to battle Corona, President Trump has been fanning the cultural wars by encouraging people to demand that their states be reopened, to hell with Corona and the dangers it poses.
Large swathes of America have shown support for quarantine efforts and to delay the opening up of the economy. The thought of putting a monetary cost on human lives has proven to be an anathema to many Americans but that is President Trumpss overriding concern, seeing the economy recover in order to boost his chances for re-election.
America stands at a pivot point now. In former times, America had exceptional leaders in times of national crises. Leaders who could rise to the challenge in order to leave America in a better position than which it was found or leaders who were passable and could at least maintain the status quo.
In lieu of those great leaders, we have President Trump. A man who has shown no ability to lead, learn or take the advice of those more knowledgeable than himself and the result is that average American’s are paying the cost in the form of lost wages and increased chances of dying.
Today, the world and America stand on the cusp of a new reality. America has traditionally been a leader in world affairs and trends but currently it is not. While many of other developed and developing countries have tackled and contained the Corona Virus within their societies, it continues to run rampant in America. Hopefully this dearth in leadership on the national and international stage proves to be a temporary aberration.
The continual bungling response to Corona makes America, and by extension democracy, look less appealing to countries around the world. Instead of harnessing the zeitgeist of the times and using Corona as a catalyst to achieve a new vision of America and institute needed social reforms, the crisis is going to waste while the wounds which divide America continue to fester and gnaw at America’s innards.
Current events through a historical lens 