Although our generation always hopes and claims that we will be the generation to learn from history’s mistakes and make better decisions in the future when we are in positions of power, the readings and video for today make it pretty clear that we have not quite lived up to this expectation. I knew that there was some relative similarities between the COVID-19 pandemic and the Spanish flu, but I had no idea the extent to which those similarities went until preparing for Monday’s class. Firstly, I didn’t know that mask mandates were implemented over 100 years ago, and based on the outcry it has caused in America today, I never would have expected that this was something we had done before. I find it intriguing and also alarming how similar the situations have been in regards to protesting the use of masks – it’s such a small price to pay for saving so many lives, and that should be especially obvious today given the prevelance of media and news coverage that keeps people updated at all times and the information available to us with the tap of a button. I wasn’t aware of Woodrow Wilson’s attempted coverup and downplaying of the coverup, very similarly to Trump’s. Although we are not technically in wartime as serious as WWI right now, I would consider Trump’s terror campaign to attempt reelection and the awful tactics he has used to garner support as well as the divisive and hostile political climate he has created as a type of wartime. He uses the pandemic as a political ploy to “keep people calm” so that he can get reelected, just as Wilson tried to downplay the pandemic to keep people patriotic in the face of the war. I never knew this about Woodrow Wilson and I have never seen this information anywhere despite doing extensive research on Woodrow Wilson for multiple college papers, and I find it alarming how easily this was hid in history. It makes me worry that in the future, Trump will be portrayed in the history books as much better than he actually is and many of his selfish motives and desires will be covered up. I want future generations to learn an accurate representation of history, unlike what many of us have learned up until this point. I hope that Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic will not be swept under the rug, and that everyone will hear how the President of the United States cared more about his public image and getting reelected than keeping 215,000+ Americans from losing their lives.
Blog Post for 10/12
Published inUncategorized
The way that so many leaders worldwide as well as American Presidents have used their position of power to silence any criticism about themselves to better maintain said power makes me question whether a truly great leader could earn that position and if they could possible maintain their moral fortitude when leading such a large group. Perhaps morally perfect leaders are only possible on a smaller scale, but that to lead a nation, especially one that is a super power, leaders must compromise on what they believe and it is necessary to maintain a level of secrecy between the top and bottom of the social hierarchy.
I too was very surprised to see the similarities between the Spanish Flu and COVID. And, I think that if the public were educated about this we could be doing much better with the handling of the virus. For example,, with the mask mandate, if the people in power were to explain that mask mandates work and have been done before I think less people would be opposed to them. Yet, some of our leaders still refuse to do the right thing.