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The Mask is Off
America is not at all well. And not only because of some novel coronavirus. The sickness is chronic and has been at least since Reagan’s “Morning in America.”
It is difficult to put a finger on what Americans value anymore. Money is certainly in the Top Ten — maybe even all ten. But there must be more, right? Truth, justice, the American way? Except it becomes increasingly clear in a crisis, such as a global pandemic, that much of what Americans like to brag about as its values wears mighty thin when times are tough and there just isn’t much cash going around. We talk a good game about family values, for example, but lately many of our conservative representatives are saying right out loud how awesome it would be to sacrifice the lives of weaker and older family members for the greater economic good.
“You know,” the Texas Republican Lieutenant Governor and former sports bar chain owner Dan Patrick told the Swanson Frozen Dinner heir and Fox News celebrity news analyst Tucker Carlson, “no one reached out to me and said, ‘As a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren?’ And if that’s the exchange, I’m all in.” Yeah, Patrick and Carlson will be fine. So, make way for commerce, Gramps. And does anyone know if Glenn Beck is still alive?