Groundhog Day
“Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today.”
Weatherman Phil Connors in the classic film, Groundhog Day
In this classic comedic film, Bill Murry plays weatherman Phil Connors assigned to cover the annual Groundhog Day festivities in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to determine how much longer winter will last. Instead, Phil finds himself trapped in a blizzard, forced to relive the same day over and over again until he makes the right choices.
As the Wuhan flu pandemic drags on and the shutdown continues in various degrees across the nation, a lot of folks are finding themselves living the same day, over and over again. This “new normal” is becoming increasing problematic as virtually the majority of what used to be normal activities are locked down, modified, closed or gone all together.
The recurring theme are becoming more evident in the media every day as they exhort the nation to make what they believe are the right choices. Naturally, this begins with the belief, ad nauseam, that this is all the President’s fault. There is ample evidence that this is not his fault any more than its Speaker Pelosi’s. Unfortunately, the visceral media hatred of the President remains the same day after day. Simply amazing and disingenuous.
Meanwhile the nation’s schools are in an uproar. The teacher’s unions are making some bizarre demands before they return to the classroom. Among these are defunding the local police and reparations to the African American community. What this has to do with educating the nation’s children is anybody’s guess. This is not normal by any stretch. Even the Director of the CDC (Center for Disease Control) Dr. Robert Redfield has recommended that the classrooms reopen with some moderate guidelines.
The absence of choices in daily life has led to increase reports of acholic abuse and domestic violence, child abuse and road rage. The frustrations seen are born of conflicting policy positions between local, state and federal officials. Regardless of what president Trump advocates, Democrats know that if they can continue to impact the economy with shutdowns and heinous personal conduct policies, they will prevail in November. An impacted faltering economy increases the chances that Biden could be elected as President.
About the only positive to come out of the pandemic is an uptick in home cooking. The food preparation skill level in a lot of the nations’ homes has increased dramatically. So has weight gain. With gyms closed, personal exercise equipment is in high demand. The wait for a Peloton has dramatically increased. Look around, everyone is out walking, running and bicycling. Card and board games are having a renaissance. A renewed interest in musical instruments has occurred like in the movie, when Phil became a skilled piano player,. Maybe the accordion will make a comeback.
Making tomorrow different from today is a personal challenge that many seek. The current state of affairs after 140 days of shutdown intensifies that challenge. Mask or no mask, dine in or take out, shop in the mall or close it, Amazon or Target, the list goes on but remember whose irresponsible behavior created this mess. The Peoples Republic of China is the real villain. It wasn’t the President, the Governors, or the Mayors. Certainly, there’s been enough boneheaded decisions by all, Democrat or Republican.
Folks need to pull together positively and insist that the media points the blame finger at the entity who has ruined tomorrow…for the time being.