To the editor:
I read (three times) the editorial by John Teevan in the March 30 Daily Journal editorial section. After reading (aghast) at Teevan’s ideas and reviewing his educational and professional ‘pedigree’ at the end of the column, I had one thought.
How did this uninformed individual ever rise to positions of leadership in any organization?
I saw that he claims to be an ‘adjunct scholar’ at the Indiana Policy Review Foundation.
Doing due diligence, I researched that organization and found it to be a far right wing ‘think tank’ (using the term loosely) formed in part by Vice-President Mike Pence when he was a congressman. This fact at least explains why President Donald Trump has made some of his fact fraught declarations, including his slow admission that the coronavirus was indeed a pandemic, as the rest of us watched daily on TV as it exploded across the world.
Teevan states the best way to fight the pandemic is through the antibodies of those who have had the virus. Even if that’s true, this is an excruciatingly slow process that will do little to stem the advancement of the virus among our population. He further states that failure to take his advice will lead to a "devastating economic collapse." If this has a familiar ring, you might remember that President Trump has pushed for people to get back to work and wanted to resume everything in time for Easter Sunday. I know he walked this back after being shouted down by the scientific community, but none the less, he said it.
Teevan recommends lifting many restrictions in early April (just in time for Easter) and seems to suggest we all could just go around wearing masks and protective gear, gloating that we are now producing ventilators at "a (World War II) pace."
Maybe we could all have our own?
Teevan recommends that those under age 60 return to work. That we reopen stores and restaurants for the younger folks, throwing vulnerable older citizens under the bus as fodder for the economic machine.
Teevan recommends sending kids back to school by May 4 (I don’t know where he got the date). Any parent knows that schools are giant Petri dishes for illness. This would perpetuate the spread of the virus.
In summary, he says that yes, many will get the virus lending one to believe he is saying, "you gotta do what you gotta do" to save the economy. You see, a robust economy is President Trump’s only hope for reelection to the White House.
Teevan admits "some degree of social chaos is likely." No kidding! People aren’t panicked enough without watching friends, parents and grandparents die needlessly for the sake of the economy, jobs reports and the stock market?
Teevan’s last words are, "We do not have to burn down the house to get rid of the mice." I say we all keep our distance, try to be calm and hold up the house.
David Heidenreich
Greenwood
