“The ‘Red Death’ had long devastated the country. … But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends … and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys. … All these and security were within. Without was the ‘Red Death.’ ” — Edgar Allen Poe, Masque of the Red Death
Poe’s short work of fiction was published in the mid-1800s, and yet we’re watching it play out in our modern reality right now. Masque of the Red Death, at its heart, is about the seeming invincibility of the rich and powerful but, ultimately, the reminder that all people are susceptible to disease — particularly when they don’t take precautions.
Watching the White House, the Senate and now the Pentagon spawn positive coronavirus test after positive test feels a little like watching the masked figure of the Red Death move through the party rooms of Prospero’s abbey — “with a slow and solemn movement … stalked to and fro among the waltzers.” We fervently hope, however, that the story coming out of Washington doesn’t end the same way as Poe’s tale.
We hope everyone who has contracted COVID makes a full recovery. And we also hope this will be a lesson learned, though not everyone seems to have learned it. Despite his COVID diagnosis, Trump has continued to downplay the seriousness of the coronavirus and has continued to make very questionable decisions that could endanger others.
The timeline regarding when Trump knew he was positive is sketchy; he may have gone to a fundraiser after receiving his positive test, thereby knowingly exposing attendees to COVID. He took a motorcade ride to parade in front of supporters after being hospitalized at Walter Reed — endangering the Secret Service agents in the enclosed vehicle with him. He took his mask off and posed for a photo-op as soon as he got back to the White House. And he went on Twitter and proclaimed: “Don’t be afraid of Covid [sic].”
A reminder to the general public: Trump, as president of the United States, has access to the best medical care in America. He has access to expensive and experimental treatments that the average person would never be able to afford — or qualify to receive. He has an entire suite at Walter Reed so he can continue working, and he faces no threat of job loss or eviction while incapacitated. Same goes for most of the COVID-positive people in his circle. Just because having the coronavirus probably won’t be as bad for them, doesn’t mean it is not a major threat to the rest of us.
Please take this pandemic seriously. Please wear masks in public and social distance. Please wash and sanitize your hands frequently. If we take the same laissez-faire approach as the president and many of his supporters — as Prince Prospero and his court — our COVID story may end like Poe’s Masque of the Red Death: “And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.”
