It's almost funny to hear that requiring face masks is a "freedom" issue in a country where going topless on the beach is illegal almost everywhere. Worse, while enforcement of many laws in the US is at best haphazard, the "boob mask" laws are usually strictly enforced, and adhered to 100%. Apparently, the threat posed by female nipples is much worse than slowly suffocating to death from a virus. After growing up in a country where women are free to go topless, drivers are
free to go as fast as their cars can at many places, and being without health insurance is not seen as "freedom", that is impossible to understand.
To those optimistic about COVID-19 reducing the number of idiots to a measurable extend because a few talk show hosts and priests have died, let me point out a few things. First, there are more than 2000 conservative radio stations in the US, and the number of conservative talk show hosts is probably even higher. Some priests that preached against vaccinations and then died, but there are more than 37,000 priests in the US, so a few less won't make a difference. The example of the Trump fans booing him about vaccines shows that people tend to stick to their first opinion, even if those who formed it originally talk against it. If the media report that a talk show host died of COVID-19 - well, the really enlightened know that the media lie, and that doctors misdiagnose everything as COVID-19 to make more money, right? Never mind that the official COVID-19 death count in the US is 643 thousand, while the number of excess deaths is more than 800 thousand!
Unfortunately, COVID-19 is more likely to
increase the number of idiots, not decrease them, at least if you believe the scientists. "Mental fog" is a symptom reported by many COVID-19 patients for long times after the infection. It's worse for those who had severe disease, and the maybe 15-40% who end up with "long COVID". But even mild COVID-19 symptoms lead to measurable "cognitive deficits that persist into the recovery phase", in particular "in aspects of higher cognitive or 'executive' function" (quotes from
doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101044). After a COVID-19 infection, the tidbits that "friends" post on social media that confirm their believes are even more appealing, while a re-thinking that requires more complex thoughts are even further out of their reach. Unfortunately, this "cognitive impairment" trend affects many of those infected. 99% of the idiots will survive, many a bit dumber than before; and their ranks will be swelled by others with long COVID. To them, presidential candidates who speak in 3-word sentences, use lots of big words ("greatest"), and create and inflame emotions will be
very attractive. Add strong voter suppression measures in every Republican-controlled legislature, and a little evil mini-me version of Trump from Florida may well get elected in 2024, even if he killed tens of thousands.