They wasted our summer, putting our lives and economy at risk.
Conservative conspiracy theories have wasted our summer. Our summer was supposed to be a time to regroup and refresh. All of the other Western European countries used the summer to heal their communities.
Western Europeans followed the advice of scientists and doctors. They shut down large gatherings. They implemented large-scale Covid 19 testing. They mandated masks in public. They implemented contact tracing. Most of all they made sure everyone could pay their bills.
[mepr-hide] https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); [/mepr-hide]They had no protest against these safety measures. All of this combined to drive down the infection rate and stopped mass hospitalization. As a result, they are slowly and safely, leaving their homes and going back to work.
The United States is going in the opposite direction.
Conservative, following the lead of Donald Trump, treated covid-19 as a hoax. Instead of listening to the doctors and the scientists, conservatives listened to talk radio, Facebook and politicians. When Covid was treated as a real threat, Donald spread the lie that China unleashed the virus.
We are collectively paying the price for conservatives’ failure of leadership. The first Congressional relief package will run out in October. According to the Wall Street Journal, large companies are planning layoffs and furloughs. When extended unemployment benefits end, too many Texas families will not be able to buy food or pay rent.
[mepr-hide] https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); [/mepr-hide]Low infection rates in Western Europe have allowed their football, or soccer, league to restart. They have no fans in the stands, but they can survive on TV advertisement revenue. Players are isolated from the rest of society to insure Covid 19 doesn’t spread throughout the league.
In the United States, university and pro teams have tried to welcome players back.
They experienced the opposite results. Both players and staff caught Covid, forcing the institutions to shut down training.
The next big test will come with schools. For weeks conservatives have repeated the mantra that children and teenagers can’t contract Covid 19. Day by day this is proven a lie. Once again, according to the Wall Street Journal, Israel opened schools and at least 1,335 students and 691 staff got sick.
How many people in our communities have contact with school children or school staff? How fast will children and teachers spread the Covid 19 to each other? How fast will they spread it to their mothers and fathers, their sisters and brothers and their grandparents?
Yes, 2020 was a wasted summer. Donald told us Covid 19 would simply disappear. He told us we could go to church at Easter. We could celebrate July 14. He could hold mass political rallies. America had the opportunity to heal itself. Conservatives said no. They wasted our summer, putting our lives and economy at risk.
Glenn Melancon
Grayson County Democratic Chair and the SDEC 30 Committee Man
As an “Army Brat” Glenn Melançon [pronounced Mel-LAWN-sawn] learned the value of public service. He was born in Heidelberg, Germany, on January 24, 1966, and is the youngest of four children. His parents, Yves “Buster” and Anna Mae Melançon, had committed to a career in the US military, Buster as a combat engineer and Anna Mae as a military wife. Their sacrifices and examples provided the foundation for Glenn’s firm belief that serving others can make the world better one day at a time.
Glenn and his wife Jackie moved to Sherman in 1995 after he completed a Ph.D. in History from Louisiana State University. He had accepted an appointment to teach history at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, while Jackie became a special education teacher at Denison ISD. They are proud of their two sons, Christopher and Alexandre. Christopher is following in his grandfather’s footsteps as a combat engineer. Alex attended Sherman High School where he enjoyed soccer and the University of Louisiana–Lafayette. He is now a proud member of the United States Airforce. While Glenn advanced in rank to become a Full Professor in July 2005, he made time to serve the local community. He served as the Cubmaster and Committee Chair for Pack 9, Wakefield Elementary School. He is also a volunteer at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
Still Blue in Texas 