Image Credit: The Associated Press

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: It’s okay to feel gratified by Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis

Oct 2, 2020 | 12:20 PM

CLOSE YOUR EYES FOR A MOMENT and imagine you’re driving down the Coquihalla Highway on a snowy, wintery day.

You’re already on edge because of the weather and road conditions but you’re doing everything you can to keep yourself and those in your car safe.

You look in your rearview mirror and see, speeding up behind you, the gaudiest old Cadillac you have ever seen.

It is painted orange and all the trim is gold. Tacky bumper stickers adorn every surface of the car and its exhaust pipe spews black smoke.

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The Cadillac is speeding and weaving all over the road, forcing other cars to lose control and crash terribly into the ditch. There may be injuries and deaths, but the car just keeps speeding along.

As it approaches, you see that the car is driven by a man with his family inside.

None of them are wearing seatbelts and they appear to be oblivious to the havoc the mad driver is wreaking.

The Cadillac speeds past you and on down the highway and, while you’re relieved that it did not force you off the road, you worry about what further damage it might cause.

An hour later, after passing countless other accident scenes along your journey, you come across the Cadillac again. It has now crashed into the ditch itself. You aren’t sure what has become of the occupants.

—–

President Donald Trump has COVID-19 and, for many of us, his diagnosis has triggered a moral dilemma. Is it right to wish illness on another person or be happy when another person becomes ill?

Well, when you imagine seeing that Cadillac in the ditch, how do you feel? You probably feel that the driver has had his comeuppance.

Donald Trump has spent months either mishandling or downplaying COVID-19.

By holding rallies at the height of the pandemic, by mocking people who wear masks, by fomenting racism with his constant China-blaming, Trump has mishandled the pandemic.

Now, despite it having just five per cent of the world’s population – the United States has 20 per cent of the world’s COVID-19 deaths.

So can you feel satisfied that he now has the virus himself? Only if you believe actions have consequences.

He has reaped what he has sown.

——

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.