On Feb. 29, the Republic of South Korea and the United States each reported their first death resulting from COVID-19. South Korea immediately made the decision to aggressively fight the ensuing pandemic; the inept leadership of the United States chose to ignore it. Six months later South Korea has endured 367 deaths, a total less than that of the state of New Hampshire. If all things were equal and we had utilized Korea’s mitigation techniques, the U.S. would possibly be dealing with only 2,349 deaths, not its current toll in excess of 200,000. (The U.S. has a population 6.4 times greater than South Korea.) In contrast to the United States’ faltering economy with an August unemployment rate of 8.4%, South Korea’s had a rate of 3.2%.
On another note I am not a “sucker,” as characterized by Donald Trump, because of my military service (U.S. Army, Vietnam War). Neither is my father (U.S. Navy, World War II), nor my grandfather (U.S. Marine Corps, World War I) a “sucker.” The 1,800 Marines that my grandfather fought with at Belleau Wood and are buried at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France are not “losers.”
Donald Trump’s world encompasses chaos, fear, anger, cowardice, division, deception, mistrust, self-dealing, and a “complete disregard for human life.” We are weaker, poorer and sicker than we were four years ago. In what rational and principled world does Donald Trump deserve to be re-elected?
JOHN T. GOEGEL
Canterbury