Commander's Column – An Historic Pestilence
Our current
situation with this novel coronavirus pandemic is almost surreal. Just a couple months removed from a booming
economy with record low unemployment rates and record highs in the stock market,
this epidemic has now infected over 300,000 people in the United States and
been blamed for over 8000 deaths.
Worldwide there are over 1.1 million cases and over 64000 deaths as of
this writing and the numbers keep climbing.
President Trump has warned that perhaps 200,000 US citizens may die from
COVID-19 related illnesses. And the economic impact has been devastating with
over 10 million new unemployment claims in the US in the last month. The stock market has crashed losing over 20%
of it’s value and over $11 trillion dollars in market capitalization. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey just yesterday
issued a shelter in place order instructing people to stay in their homes
unless in need of food or emergency medical care or working in a critical
infrastructure support industry or occupation which puts the circumstances into
a very personal perspective emphasizing the impact to our local, state and
national economy. Some of us have never
witnessed or lived thru such a tragic tumultuous scenario and loss of life from
such a pandemic.
But is this
situation without parallel or precedent?
On the radio this morning I heard an interview with an elderly man who
was celebrating his 104th birthday and is being hailed as the oldest US
survivor of this coronavirus.
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/104-year-old-american-is-worlds-oldest-coronavirus-survivor Not only that but Bill is a World War II vet
and survived the Spanish flu as a toddler.
The Spanish flu struck worldwide in 1918-1919 and killed (along with
associated diseases) an estimated 50 million people worldwide and over 600,000
in America in those years immediately after the War to End All Wars which
itself claimed 20 million lives.
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-pandemic-h1n1.html In
relation to todays population, that would be the equivalent of 3 million
Americans perishing from that flu. The
War Between the States claimed over 600,000 lives and it is estimated that
fully two thirds or 400,000 of those died from disease and related illnesses
such as typhoid and dysentery. One of my
Confederate ancestors, Elijah Hunt was a Private in Co. B of the 15th Georgia
Infantry which fought under Benning’s Brigade and survived the campaigns at
Fredericksburg, Gettysburg and Chickamauga but died in a Confederate hospital
in Newnan Georgia of such diseases.
We live in a
day and time where news in disseminated instantaneously across the globe and
the stories and images of suffering and loss of life is brought into our homes
and living rooms continuously. We have grown impatient and intolerant of
afflictions or conflicts which result in a few thousand deaths let alone
millions. Informational technology and
progress in modern medicine surely should yield improved results in the fight against
pandemics but the globalist economy and ease of travel greatly expand the reach
and rapidity that these diseases can infiltrate every corner of the world. But we need to keep a perspective on the
magnitude of this latest coronavirus and recognize that COVID-19 will not
eradicate humanity, that soon this too will be a chapter in the book of
history. Perhaps more than just a
passage in those annals as this pandemic has exposed the dangers of an
interwoven world economic system and has resulted in speculation of a return to
renewed domestic industrial capacity and protective isolationism to a greater
degree. Our Confederate ancestors
weathered a terrible storm of war and pestilence and we will survive this. I encourage each of you to follow the recommendations
of the CDC but also your common sense in staying safe and preventing
contagion. Here in April remember too
that this is Confederate History and Heritage month and remember their
sacrifices and the deprivations and unthinkable environment they struggled
thru. We can sacrifice a little now to
keep each other safe and reduce the casualties of this COVID-19 world war in
which we are engaged and I encourage each of you to do your part to help your
families and your neighbors in this time of calamity. Stay safe and I look forward to seeing each
of you at a celebratory SCV camp meeting soon with this all behind us.
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