I just started reading “The Splendid and the Vile” by Erik Larson and what Winston Churchill did when confronted by Hitler’s invasion of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg and France.
Winston Churchill, when faced with the loss of hundreds of thousands of British soldiers in Dunkirk, broadcast to the English public on the dire consequences about to befall the British troops. According to Larson, “Of the 150 house-to-house interviews in the London area, approximately half said they were frightened and worried by the speech; the rest were ‘heartened,’ ‘made more determined,’ ‘stiffened.’ “
Compare this to how our President reacted to the issue of challenges of the pandemic early in 2020. President Trump compared it to the flu and implied it would soon disappear. And here’s the reason. Trump told Bob Woodward he wanted to avoid a panic.
Unlike Churchill, the President played down what eventually happened. If we all began wearing masks and practiced social distancing early on, think how many people would have been alive today.
Stuart Mahler lives in West Hartford.