Has COVID-19 Evolved to Social Darwinism?

Here are the cold hard facts:  One, the CDC has changed its collective mind so many times a large percentage of the population no long believes anything the CDC says to the American people.  Two, the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) has become the exact opposite of transparent over the past eight months; so much so that no municipality in the State of Oklahoma can make any informed decisions on how to combat what the pandemic is doing on a local level.  Finally, Governor Kevin Stitt has buried his head in the sand and refuses to lead by making overly simplistic statements that he will not declare a health emergency or allow any federal mandates to be enforced on any Oklahoman as long as he is governor… but mostly it’s just crickets; no sign of leadership at all.

So where does that leave us?  As of September 10, the number of new cases reported daily in Edmond is at, or higher than, the number of new cases experienced daily during the last week of January 2021; a time period where businesses were closed, masks were required, and people everywhere were hoping that the vaccine would end this pandemic nightmare.  Even with the numbers higher than we’ve seen since last winter, the OSDH has not restarted daily updates to their dashboard.  There is truly a big black information hole that is causing people on both sides of the vaccination / masking issue to dig in their heels.

And where are we headed? It would appear that we have already reached the point of Social Darwinism; the theory that individuals, groups, and peoples are subject to the same Darwinian laws of natural selection as plants and animals.  While this theory has been largely discredited over the past decades, perhaps we have reached that point where natural selection of the human species is becoming a reality. 

In other parts of the world this may be carried out through the lack of COVID-19 vaccine doses and the government decides who gets jabbed and who suffers or dies.  But in the United States, and that does include the State of Oklahoma, this natural selection appears to be based on logic and political opinion.  Of course, there are those that cannot  or should not receive the vaccine due to allergies and other medical conditions making it unsafe.  Of course, there are those who may object on religious grounds; but that is another discussion.

The issue of Social Darwinism, when excluding the two groups previously mentioned, comes down to the lack of concern for others and just plain old stupidity.  Wearing a mask in certain settings is a sign of care for those around you.  Even if it just reduces the chance of transmission by ten percent, it should be worth the effort to put others at ease. 

And then there is the issue of ‘we don’t know what’s in it”, or “It’s experimental. I don’t want any part of that.”  Surprise! You don’t know what’s in that hot dog you’re eating.  You don’t know what’s in those vitamin supplements you’re taking.  And if you do get the virus, every prescription drug you are being given is experimental for treating COVID-19.

So, you can join the governor and bury your head in the sand, hoping it all goes away.  Which may end in natural selection of the species where the unvaccinated lose this battle, as we are currently seeing in our hospitals where over 85% of COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated, and more than 90% of ICU COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated.  Or, you can do your part to help us put an end to this pandemic.  It is absolutely your choice.