The challenge of keeping America on the same page

Why it’s so hard to create a consensus on the coronavirus response

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

Here in my home state of Michigan, as everywhere in the country during this crisis, we have been on a roller-coaster ride. Early on, we were one of the hotspots. I remember being told at my work that classes would be held online for the balance of the semester. In one weekend, I had to transform my classes from a traditional lecture into a virtual classroom. And I had to do this while my grandson could no longer go to his daycare.

The lockdown order came just days after we had celebrated my grandson’s fifth birthday with a party with about twenty guests. Shortly thereafter, many of us got sick. Was it the coronavirus? Who knows.

It was surreal around here after the lockdown started. Once busy streets were abandoned. People moved tentatively around the supermarket where the shelves were largely bare, quietly avoiding each other. The hospital down the street set up a big tent for triage in its parking lot. It seemed like we were living in the apocalypse. Or maybe a very realistic horror movie.

We were fortunate to have strong leadership here in Michigan. Our newly-elected governor, Gretchen Whitmer, took the bull by the horns. She relied upon guidance from scientists and acted…