The Olive Project — Covid: United We Stand, Divided We Fall

The coronavirus doesn’t care about a victim’s political party, so why do we?

The coronavirus brought death and disease to the world, and the United States was the hardest-hit country. So how exactly did a virus bring the world’s leading superpower to its knees?

One of the most significant reasons was the fact that America is extremely divided because of people’s political preferences, and the difference between the messages political leaders are sending. President Trump, who is a Republican, downplayed the severity of Covid-19 for months, thus convincing many of his die-hard supporters that Covid-19 wasn’t a threat. Anyone who said otherwise, such as Dr. Fauci, was wrong. President-elect Biden took this opportunity to position himself as a man of science by promoting the wearing of masks and listening to health professionals. This was the start of a major political rift.

Those Trump supporters immediately correlated listening to Dr. Fauci, wearing masks, etc. to supporting Biden. Wearing a mask was never meant to be politicized; there are tons of studies that show how wearing a mask not only benefits others but also the wearer. Even when President Trump finally posted a picture of him wearing a mask and calling the act of doing so “patriotic,” the damage had already been done.

However, President Trump and President-elect Biden both continued firing shots at each other, especially over each others’ Covid-19 responses. The news, both liberal and conservative sources, continued to hype this up, not helping the situation at hand. Tensions between Democrats and Republicans skyrocketed. Now, the act of wearing a mask, listening to health professionals, and social distancing are politicized. They were never meant to be disputed over; these are actions that have been proven effective against the coronavirus. The fact that Americans can’t unify to combat something taking the lives of people across the nation is rather dismaying.

Our inability to come together and battle this pandemic as a singular nation has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, preventable deaths. Regardless of one’s political standing, they should still be able to agree on the fundamental truths behind the coronavirus. However, this will only be able to happen once leaders of both parties extend olive branches. They need to unanimously tell their followers that differences should be put aside if we want to beat this pandemic. Because let’s face it, Democrats won’t be able to beat the coronavirus. Republicans won’t be able to beat the coronavirus. But the United States of America just might.

Disclaimer: This article was written before Inauguration Day, thus the titles, “President Trump” and “President-elect Biden.”