As we continue into uncharted times with the COVID-19 pandemic, we must change our focus to how we can combat this virus and support one another during this crisis. This global pandemic affects each and every one of us. Unfortunately, not everyone believes in science and nor is taking it seriously. Too many people are going against the suggestions of medical professionals and scientists, putting all of us at risk. Estimates now are that due to a lack of proper preparation to accept tests offered by WHO, as well as masks, alcohol wipes, and ventilators from suppliers, 100,000 – 240,000 Americans might die due to this virus, potentially millions. There is currently NO national shelter in place order with specific guidelines for essential people and services, which must continue. Things are being organized state by state. Epidemiologists state the virus does not respect artificial boundaries.
Until recently, President Trump downplayed the seriousness of this virus, even calling it a hoax. CNN Politics fact-checked how Trump tried to erase the memory of him downplaying the coronavirus and shared his actual quotes:
From January until last week, Trump consistently minimized the risk the coronavirus posed to the country. He claimed to have the virus under “control,” that the number of US cases would go “down, not up,” that the virus might “disappear” through a “miracle” or something of the sort, that the virus might well vanish by April with the warmer weather, that the media and Democrats were overhyping the situation, and that “this is their new hoax,” leaving it unclear whether he was calling the virus itself a hoax., Steve Bannon
Additionally, religious leaders are using fear of the End Times to manipulate members. (I wrote about this last week, here.) And others refuse to stop meeting as a congregation, claiming they are essential and trust in God to protect them. One such example is a megachurch in Louisiana. Texas Pastors are asking for a religious exemption to the stay at home order.
Even more disturbing is Ralph Drollinger, who runs a weekly Bible study for Trump administration Cabinet officials and other politicians, suggested the coronavirus pandemic is due to God’s wrath over homosexuality and environmentalism. I wrote about Drollinger, the Christian Right, and the influence they have on today’s political administration, in my book, The Cult of Trump.
Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism, wrote an Op-Ed that discusses this issue: “The Religious Right’s Hostility to Science Is Crippling Our Coronavirus Response. Trump’s response to the pandemic has been haunted by the science denialism of his ultraconservative religious allies.” Anne Nelson very much recommends, as I do, Stewart’s book, The Power Worshippers. Anne Nelson introduced me to the work of attorney Jennifer Kohn, who wrote this essential article, on the corruption of American’s electronic voting machines and wrote in December 2017 that “The Council for National Policy (to which Kellyanne Conway, Steve Bannon, the Mercers, Michael Pence, Ken Blackwell, and the two men whose families funded the largest voting machine vendor in the U.S.) has set a deadline of 202 for restoring “religion and economic freedom and Judeo-Christian values” under the Constitution.” I recently watched the HBO documentary: Kill Chain: The Cyber War on America’s Elections. The trailer is here.
This brings me to this week, where I had a chance to interview the award-winning author and media analyst, Anne Nelson. I learned much by reading her book, Shadow Network, and it largely validated a lot of what I wrote about in The Cult of Trump. Her research and insights are invaluable into the network and 501C-3 Council for National Policy.
