Let’s start today with a fact. Everyone is sick of COVID-19. Maybe not inflicted with the virus but at least sick of it being the most dominant aspect of the year 2020.

We just suffered through the worst election cycle in the history of this glorious land. It tore families and friendships apart like no other election has done.

What may be worse is another fact. We have no idea what to do about the virus. There have been a variety of sincere attempts, and we learned some new terms such as flattening the curve, but we didn’t learn how to kill the virus.

We learned how to lock down business and destroy the restaurants, bars, hair salons and dentist practices, but we didn’t learn how to kill the virus.

We learned how to move millions of voters away from voting in person and to use early voting, mail-in voting and absentee voting instead, but we didn’t kill the virus.

For this reason we have to be the first to declare Covid D. Virus as 2020 personality of the year. People Magazine and 60 Minutes will be far too late in the declaration that Mr. Virus has earned the honor as did few other such despicable characters before him.

He will be remembered long after we have forgotten other feats such as the tearing down of historical monuments deemed racist, electing the first female and minority vice president, riots across the country in the name of racial injustice and police brutality, having two men in their mid-to-late 70s chosen as the best we have to select from as president and the Steelers being perfect for more than half the NFL season.

But we still haven’t a plan to kill Covid D. Virus.

How can this be? Plenty of fingers could be pointed. All of the aforementioned events caused distractions which allowed COVID to gain strength and take territorial control. The world watched helplessly as they had faith we would find the solution, as we always do. But we were too busy fighting internally.

We needed to waste time trying to impeach the sitting president. We had to attack the family members of both presidential candidates for past errors in judgment, and we had to politicize the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice. Some believe these were all carefully orchestrated events meant to distract the voting public from making wise decisions at the ballot box.

Is there any reason to be surprised that COVID has been kicking our butt every game day since March? We can blame China. We can blame whichever side of the aisle you oppose. We are convinced it is no longer which side you embrace but much more likely your vote is decided but which you oppose instead.

Or we can look in the mirror.

We read an opinion piece where the writer compared not wearing a mask to playing Russian roulette. You know, where you randomly spin the cylinder of a revolver and then hope the bullet isn’t in the chamber which is aimed at your temple.

His position was that the person pulling the trigger though was also aiming the deadly weapon or virus at his neighbor, family members, and health care workers just as surely as himself.

Our daily reports from Butler Memorial Hospital are becoming very scary. Beds and ventilators are starting to be used in staggering numbers. We believe our community is better prepared than most for a worst-case scenario, but unfortunately all those precautions and preparations can be wasted by the selfish few who find it “fake news,” just the flu” or call others snowflakes or sheep. Their reality could likely be a death sentence for someone else. Even if some aren’t ready to face the reality that the 2020 election is over (except the Georgia congressional races) it is.

Today is the day to get this country focused on the pandemic, making sure its reign is limited to a one-year term.

President Trump needs to focus his final two months on this cause instead of ringing-up more firings. President-elect Biden and his VP need to be serious about attacking COVID and not hell-bent on tearing down what the previous administration has done. They have four years to do that. Right now all our resources need to be focused on throwing the bum out.

Let’s get rid of Covid D. Virus now.

— RV