Finding Cure for Politics of Pandemic

Governor Newsom’s announcement Tuesday that the complicated color-coded COVID tiers that California’s counties have had to live by for the last year are going away on June 15th, drew praise and criticism.

The announcement by Newsom that in about a couple of months, restrictions that have impacted every individual, every business, every school and every place of worship in California will be gone is welcome news. And the news is being applauded across the state and many who while becoming weary of the restrictions, are today saying thank you to Governor Newsom.

But there are also many others who are saying it’s about time, those who have been critical of California’s governor since the state first painted the state purple, red, orange or yellow. And who are hoping the expected recall election will make Gavin Newsom go away too.

But then among the many things we have learned about the pandemic since it first began early in 2020, one of them is not medical…but political.

From the start, the politics of the pandemic have infected us like a virus, leading to a rash of sometimes mean-spirited and feverish debate. And it didn’t help that the pandemic emerged during an already highly contentious presidential election year.

And while we are not there yet, thanks to the vaccines, we are at least getting closer to the pandemic ending.

But healing from the disease of the politics of the pandemic may be harder to cure.

(Photo Getty Images)