Vaccination
President Biden announced this week that there will be enough vaccinations for every adult in the United States by May. Medical experts, some for the first time, are speaking with smiles on their faces. There is a light at the end of the tunnel of COVID, and the light is getting brighter by the minute. If we can “hang on” until summer, until the vast majority of Americans are vaccinated, the United States may actually reach a level of “herd immunity”. So many folks will be immune that N-Covid-19 will become a nuisance instead of the pandemic we know that killed over half-a-million Americans.
But it’s March, not summer. While the end of the tunnel is visible, “we ain’t there yet”. So when Biden’s announcement was followed by the Governors of Texas and Mississippi declaring their states were “100%” open, with no COVID restrictions, the President called them out.
“I hope everyone’s realized by now these masks make a difference,” Biden told reporters Wednesday. “The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime everything’s fine, take off your mask, forget it. It still matters.”(Insider).
Defending Neanderthals
Senator Marsha Blackburn, Republican from Tennessee, immediately jumped to the defense of Neanderthals.
“Neanderthals are hunter-gatherers. They’re protectors of their family. They are resilient. They’re resourceful. They tend to their own,” the GOP senator said. “So I think Joe Biden needs to rethink what he is saying.” (Insider)
So to be clear, Neanderthals were (not are) an archaic version of humans. They “disappeared” between 35,000 and 25,000 years ago – though they may well have been “assimilated” into modern humans. Neanderthals lived in Europe, using caves for shelter. Those caves also preserved their art work, and their skeletons for modern study. When modern society talks about “cave people” – there are generally referring to the Neanderthals. (Brittanica)
So while it’s wonderful that Senator Blackburn and other Republicans jumped to the defense of the Neanderthals from the “unfair” aspersions cast by the President, there really isn’t anybody around for them to defend. That is, other than the retired Geico advertising campaign – “even a caveman can do it”. That was replaced by the Gecko.
Cartoon Characters
But it seems to be the kind of issue the Republicans can get behind. Defending Neanderthals came right after defending the “manhood” of Mr. Potato Head (see an earlier essay from this week – Potato Heads). And right before defending the early works of Dr. Seuss. It seems the beloved author of “The Cat in the Hat”, “Green Eggs and Ham”, and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” had earlier works that contains racist images. Doctor Seuss Enterprises, the business that preserves and controls his works, determined that they would no longer publish six books from his early collection. They released the following statement: “These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong” (USA Today).
Neanderthals, Potato Heads and the Cat in the Hat all seem to be more important issues to the Republicans than the very real concerns in front of them. The COVID relief package is before the Senate, but Republicans are lockstep in their opposition to the legislation. So opposed in fact, that Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin used his Senatorial “privilege” to require almost 700 pages of the bill read into the record – delaying Senate debate for over ten hours.
Serious Debate
It’s certainly the “right” of the GOP to stand in opposition. When they controlled the Senate, the Democrats often did the same. But it does seem that their opposition has become “frivolous” instead of substantive. The issues that seem “important” this week – Neanderthals, Potato Heads and the Cat in the Hat, all are designed to further polarize American politics. It’s about “firing up the base” – “Democrats are against Dr Seuss!!!! Let’s storm the Capitol to defend the Cat in the Hat and the Grinch!!” (Maybe it’s “too soon” for “storming the Capitol” – but isn’t this kind of craziness how we got there in the first place?)
Serious issues are coming. The House passed the Police Reform and Voting Reform Acts this week. The John Lewis Voting Rights Act is right behind. There are real issues of concern and debate in all of those proposed laws, real points of contention about who “counts” in America. I hope we can hear serious discussion about those issues – not ten hours of reading from the embattled Senate clerks, and not defense of Neanderthals, potato heads, or cats with hats.
