Let's throw some food! (respectfully)
Caroline Marini's Position
Overview
COVID-19 has had detrimental effects on the US, from our economy to our presidential election. Here’s an in-depth look at some of the driving factors of division the virus has caused.
The Economy
Corona Virus has caused the biggest blow to the US economy since the Great Depression. With historic overvalued stocks on the market (83.3%), and GDP rates falling at 32.9%- the deepest recession since 1947- it’s safe to say that the virus has not been kind to many Americans. Corona Virus has also caused massive rates of unemployment, with it being 6.9% (almost doubling what it was in February). It has especially wreaked havoc on small businesses; with consumers being cautious with spending, then going to big chain stores for better deals.
According to a poll taken by the US Chamber of Commerce, many small business owners (58%) are worried that they will have to permanently close their businesses, while 3.9% had to permanently close. While many business owners also have problems about Biden’s proposed lockdown; with 65% voicing concern about permanently closing their business.
Another issue is unemployment checks citizens receive from the government. Many people got laid off back in March, and decided to not get another job due to unemployment checks; in many states, they can receive up to 600$ per week. Personally, this made it extremely hard for me to get a job as a 16 year old- many employers were waiting for individuals who got laid off to apply for the job, and it never happened and this made it extremely hard for me to get a job.
Politics
COVID-19 has been a big political debate, especially amongst republicans and democrats. With republicans wanting everything to open back up, vs democrats calling for another lockdown and enforcing masks and temperature checks.
With President Trump's COVID-19 plan fully supporting opening the economy back up and president elect Joe Biden’s plan calling for a lockdown, this fueled the controversy in the election with the mail in voting the democrats wanted; and the republicans accused them of cheating and forging votes so Biden would win. These differences create a bigger rift between the political parties which creates tension and causes protests against the masks.
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Anonymous' Position
Overview
When looking to our nation’s past, the United States has undergone pandemics, terrorist attacks, and even wars. Many Americans are experiencing similar impacts to that of the 2008 recession and 9/11, two events that readjusted domestic and foreign policy which consequently, forever changed the functioning of our nation. Besides the evident joblessness and economic impacts, American confusion has become a normality at this point. It is no secret that the last year has drastically impacted the functioning of the United States along with the rest of the world. With the amount of hostility, anger, and confusion that has attached itself to Americans in such critical times, this year has actually paved the way for some crucial learning and growth. Although the political and societal polarization caused by the pandemic makes it seem like our country is rearing for an ugly deterioration, we can’t ignore the large possibility of unification.
Its clear that the past 11 months have definitely been a chaotic experience but this can also be a learning experience. When this pandemic ends-which it evidently will, we, as a society, can look back upon these drastic times and call for a change. We can pose questions like, “How could we have acted better?”. One key “unifying” factor we have going for Americans, along with the rest of the world, is an urge for the revitalization of normalcy. The methods for how to get there may be different but the concept and hope is there.
I’m not here to explain the past year and the detrimental impacts of the coronavirus-we literally lived it and have had it control every aspect of daily life. It has been controversial and completely confusing. Especially with the prevalence of social media which impacts the lense we view the world through, it’s no surprise the polarization we are experiencing. When we can’t even go outside and live our lives; media has become the small window we look at life through. Once the Coronavirus is over, there is a great chance we will find a newfound appreciation for freedom and the reluctance to return to normalcy. Although society is seemingly choking on our current situation of controversy, there is so much room to learn from the past year. I’m pretty sure we can all agree this year sucked and we would like to feel in control of our own lives. And that, within itself, is extremely unifying. We are all realizing things we took for granted; a newfound appreciation and adjustment might just be what the United States needs.
This obviously doesn’t excuse the issues our nation has but this is an opportunity to change. Here’s a few things we could see as a result of the pandemic:
-we could see stronger government action and an international pandemic initiative to handle future outbreaks as Covid-19 was so unprepared for
-with a shift in geopolitics, there could be a rise in nationalism
*it doesn't matter what ethnicity, race, social sector, or age, we all are susceptible to the virus
-we may see the development of new, creative solutions for remote learning
There isn’t much certainty and we can’t erase the past year, but we can certainly all agree to learn from it.
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Caroline's Response
While America did become unified after terrorist attacks (such as 9/11) and wars (WW1, WW2), we became unified against a common enemy, something tangible and real. But even with that being said, America was even further divided after the civil war-with the South being outraged by their loss and the North's Reconstruction Era ultimately failing with the Compromise of 1877 (the Compromise of 1877 ended Northern interference in the South, so the North could have a republican president after the highly disputed election of 1876, and the South basically disregarded all laws passed to protect african americans). Anyway, a pandemic doesn't offer an enemy, and without a common enemy, many Americans didn't know how to react: and with everyone stuck inside, the confusion and an abundance of free time lead to hatred towards each other. A lot of this hostility has shown through politics, with the black lives matter movements, the presidential election, and the pandemic itself. The possibility of unification gets slimmer everyday, especially with the results of the presidential election.
The pandemic will eventually end, but the unifying factor you speak about is one of the highly debated and sensitive subjects in politics today. Democrats and Republicans have clashed on this subject since the beginning of the pandemic. Republicans support opening the economy and insisting life gets back to normal (with no masks), as seen in the anti-masks protests and protests to let kids go to school and play sports: while democrats support a full lockdown and masks to be worn everywhere. This topic has become one of the most polarizing over the past year, especially now with Joe Biden in office. Part of Biden's campaign run was that he had a solution to the pandemic and would end it, but after his election he states “there is nothing we can do to change the trajectory of the pandemic in the next several months”. Obviously, Republicans were already angered by the result of the election, and with Biden saying this he managed to outrage them even more. I believe by the end of this pandemic (which will not be for a while), America will be extremely divided to the point of no return.
I believe the media is the reason we are so divided (which i think many people would agree with). There is so much false information spread and informal fallacies the media commits daily (as seen with left leaning CNN and right leaning FOXNEWS, for example). I could go on CNN and see a story, then go to FOX and see the same story with completely different “facts”. All of the misinformation spread deepens the division, with both sides not understanding compromise anymore and constantly fighting over fabricated stories.
Here's a list of concrete results we have seen from the pandemic so far:
The polarizing results of the 2020 presidential election
Effects of BLM movements
Unemployment rates skyrocketing, “The unemployment rate peaked at an unprecedented level, not seen since data collection started in 1948, in April 2020 (14.8%)” to a highly elevated level of 6.7% in december 2020
Unemployment rates continued, “Racial and ethnic minorities had relatively high unemployment rates in April (16.7% for Black workers compared to 14.2% for White workers, and 18.9% for Hispanic workers compared to 13.6% for non-Hispanic workers), and these gaps persisted in December”
Devastating effects on small business owners, with 58% concerned about having to permanently close and 3.9% permanently shutting down
I think it's safe to say that the pandemic has not been kind to many Americans, and is leading us to complete deterioration.
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Anonymous' Response
Even though your point about America’s civil war dividing the country is correct in different contexts, it doesn't bear any relevance to my point of unification. The civil war was an internal threat to the United States, rather than an external threat (similar to the previous examples I had presented). It is clear how a Civil War in America is an unrealistic comparison to the external threats that were imposed on America as a whole, making them all for the same cause. The reason unification is evident is simply because, as Americans, we are trying to end the pandemic. Everyone wants to see it come to a stop one way or another, and by sharing this similar goal, or some might say, sharing this similar problem, we are evidently unified whether we like it or not to end the pandemic. Unlike the provocative president Donald Trump was, Joe Biden takes a much less aggressive stance as our president. He will obviously be a much more passive figure and will de-escalate the political division in the country. In regards to unifying our country and spotlighting the need for diversity in government functions, Joe Biden has elected the most diverse cabinet. This inclusivity is exactly the type of action our government needs for unification and shows steps towards the most equal-bearing future possible.
An additional point to address in your argument is the joblessness in America currently, which can only be thanked to the continuing pandemic. Of course joblessness is down. Due to social distancing conditions, and the closing of businesses, the economy has suffered major impacts but this is no way indicative of future projections as the virus will eventually subside. This pandemic has brought on troubling times, to say the least, and everyone has been affected by it one way or another. I will 100% agree with you on that, but you missed a critical component to this whole situation. The people don’t need a common enemy, there is one: an invisible but prominent threat, the virus. Anyone can contract the virus, it doesn’t matter who you are. The fact that we are all part of the struggle brings us together not even as Americans but as the human race.
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Whom do you agree with?
*Keep in mind: neither opinion expressed is endorsed or in affiliation with the dinner table talk; this is all for educational purposes! This is specifically an article meant to address differing perspectives in order to expose one to new opinions :) Stay educated!
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