Yesterday I posted a positive cartoon about Dr. Anthony Fauci, calling him a valuable national resource. In these times of uncertainty, getting accurate information from someone who knows what he’s talking about seems way up there on America’s to-do list.
If social media is any indication, a lot of you liked the sentiment.
So this morning I was looking for cartoon material and came across a CNN story that said the following:
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top medical expert on the coronavirus pandemic and a member of President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force, is facing threats to his personal safety and now requires personal security from law enforcement at all times, including at his home, a source confirms to CNN.
When Fauci was asked about this he said he was not able to answer and suggested questions be referred to the Department of Human Health and Services. For what happened next, let’s go back to the CNN story:
Fauci's response was quickly interrupted by Trump, who stepped up to the podium to say the nation's most visible infectious disease expert doesn’t require protection.
"(He) doesn't need security, everybody loves them," said Trump. "Besides that, they'd be in big trouble if they ever attacked."
However, as Fauci’s profile in the pandemic crisis has grown, so has the concern for his welfare. Fauci's guidance to Trump for the country to remain as locked down as possible to help control the virus spread has not earned fans among some fervent right-wing voices.
If you want to read the full article, here’s the link:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/01/politics/anthony-fauci-security-detail/index.html
How Fauci saved lives
Now we’re getting into my personal opinion so take that for what it’s worth.
If what I’ve read is accurate Trump was planning on yelling olly olly oxen free on Easter and telling everyone it was OK to go back to normal. Then Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx showed the president what the consequences of that might be and Trump backed off.
Wishful thinking wasn’t gonna cut it and I believe doctors Fauci and Birx saved a lot of lives.
But a lot of us – and that sometimes includes me – tend to be short-term thinkers. We want what we want right now and stepping back and thinking about how things might work out in the long run isn’t comfortable, so we’d prefer not to do it.
And apparently there are threats against the people who do it for us.
The CNN article mentions “fervent right-wing voices” but provides no evidence that those are the people threatening Dr. Fauci, so take that into consideration before you jump to what seems like a logical conclusion.
(I’m guessing Fauci isn’t being threatened by member of Greenpeace, but the most important word in that sentence is “guessing.”)
Words have consequences
There’s a mountain of evidence that Donald Trump tends to talk off the top of his head, has a hard time speaking in complete sentences and quite often says stuff that just isn’t true.
If you’re writing a Saturday Night Live skit or drawing political cartoons, it’s awesome.
But there are people out there who believe every word the president says and when the president gets them worked up, they by God are going to do something about it.
Donald Trump might change his tune the next day and deny he ever said some of what got those people enraged, but it’s too late; he’s already inflamed the passions of people who have a hard time listening to evidence from the other side or changing their minds.
Words matter, especially when you’re president and if Donald Trump can’t learn that lesson, voters ought to.
Here’s hoping the threats against Dr. Anthony Fauci are just threats and nobody is dumb enough to act on them, but face it: there are morons among us.