Augmented Reality Abandoned

Here is the real truth about our current state of affairs within our schools and families due to the pandemic

Introduction

Everything is not okay. Everything is not rosy. We are living in a pandemic right now. The distorted rhetoric perpetuated by President Trump has resulted in the devastation of the coronavirus to be minimized in the United States. The education of children and youth has been disrupted in extraordinary ways. Families continue to suffer as loved ones and other members of society continue to become infected with the coronavirus. Precious human beings have been dying in record numbers. It is time for the president to stop distorting the truth about this life-threatening, life-altering contagion that continues to indiscriminately and savagely rain upon us.

The Coronavirus is Cunning and Relentless

The pandemic is a ruthless predator. I seeks humankind to destroy. Men, women, young people, children and infants continue to become victims.

The coronavirus attacks precious and diverse souls. It strikes regardless of their zip code, race, religion, political affiliation, gender identity, ethnic background, economic status, level of education, social standing, popularity, occupation, or age.

This contagion does not discriminate. It intrudes on unsuspecting individuals who live the lives that they love to live. Covid-19 sheds its venomous impact when it hits.

At the time that this article was written, over 214,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus. A moment of reading silence is offered to honor their lives and memories.

This is the truth about the pandemic. Sadly, President Trump has distorted this truth.

Here is the Proof

In an article called “Augmented Reality-The Past, The Present, and The Future” published on the Interaction Design Foundation website,

“Augmented reality is a view of the real, physical world in which elements are enhanced by computer generated input.”

In other words, technology is used to manipulate authentic experiences to intensify the environment. While this definition is applicable to technology, I adapt and narrow its meaning to align it with the disturbing occurrences that have been taking place throughout the United States during the pandemic.

The exclusive perspective of President Trump along with his divisive and destructive rhetoric related to the coronavirus is augmented. He continues to verbally reshape scientific and medical data connected to the pandemic to create and manipulate his unique and self-gratifying reality. I support my position by sharing the following information.

According to the online CNN article called “Timeline: Charting Trump’s Public Comments on Covid-19 vs. What He Told Woodward in Private” published on September 16, 2020,

“President Donald Trump’s public messaging about the coronavirus has been amazing consistent since January. Even before the virus reached the US, Trump has downplayed its threat, minimizing its potential severity, and continually reassuring the American public that it would soon disappear.

With the publication of Bob Woodward’s new book “Rage”, for the first time the public got to hear what Trump was saying about the virus behind closed doors. In a series of interviews with Woodward, Trump indicated he was more aware of the threat than what he was conveying publicly. And he admitted to playing down that threat, concealing what he knew about how deadly and contagious the virus was.”

Segments of the timeline are printed in the same CNN article. It sequences and documents what President Trump actually knew about coronavirus based on developments related to its progression compared to what he actually told the citizens of the United States. Some of this information follows.

• January 22, 2020: “Trump says he isn’t worried about that the outbreak could turn into a global pandemic. ‘We have it totally under control’, Trump tells CNBC”.
• January 29, 2020: In an announcement made by the White House, the public was informed that a coronavirus task force had been created. President Trump also sends a tweet to assure the public “that the experts are ‘on top of’ the US response to” the virus.
• January 31, 2020: “The Trump administration declares a public health emergency in the United States because of the coronavirus...”
• February 4, 2020: “At the State of the Union the President spends a mere 20 seconds out of his 78-minute speech addressing the coronavirus.”
• February 7, 2020: In a recorded conversation with Woodward, “Trump acknowledges that the coronavirus is more deadly than the flu...”
• February 10, 2020: “At a political rally in New Hampshire, Trump says, ‘By April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, (the coronavirus) miraculously goes away,’ though public health experts say it’s too early to know how if the weather will impact the virus.”
• February 24, 2020: “Trump tweets, ‘The coronavirus is very much under control in the USA.’”
• February 26, 2020: “Trump says that the doctors should treat this like the flu, which he claims has an even higher fatality ratio based on the numbers so far. He also says that ‘the risk to the American people remains very low.’”
• February 29, 2020: “Trump says ‘healthy individuals should be able to fully recover,’ while acknowledging that additional cases of coronavirus in the US ‘are likely’”.
• March 11, 2020: “In a primetime Oval Office address, Trump…says the risk of coronavirus is ‘very, very, low’ for most Americans on the same day that the World Health Organization declares the coronavirus outbreak is a pandemic.”
• March 13, 2020: “At a coronavirus task force briefing, Trump declares a national emergency but says ‘It’s totally unnecessary’ for everybody to get tested because the coronavirus ‘will pass through.’”
• March 19, 2020: In a private conversation with Woodward, “Trump admits he wanted to play down the dangers ‘because I don’t want to create a panic’ and acknowledges ‘it’s not just old people’ who are susceptible to the virus.’
• March 27, 2020: “At the daily coronavirus briefing, Trump said ‘age is a factor’ when it comes to the coronavirus and ‘children should be in good shape,’ that ‘it’s almost the younger they are, the better they do.’”
• April 3, 2020: “At the coronavirus task force briefing, the President says the virus is ‘going away’”.
• April 5, 2020: During another private discussion with Woodward, “Trump says the coronavirus is ‘horrible’ and ‘unbelievable.’”
• May 5, 2020: “Trump claims ‘children aren’t affected’” by the virus.
• August 14, 2020: In the final conversation with Woodward, “Trump insists ‘nothing more could have been done’ by him or his administration in response to the pandemic.”

Simply stated, President Trump willfully and persistently downplayed the coronavirus. Sadly, many of his loyal followers have been doing so as well. In fact, the unwavering commitment to the president is synonymous with the devotion resolute followers have to a charismatic leader of a cult.

Many followers of the president have joined him in resisting safety guidelines to slow the spread of the virus. They have followed their leader by either minimizing or ignoring mask wearing and physical distancing. The distorted and augmented reality of the president and his steady followers who also include other political leaders has caused the contagion to spread to others mercilessly.

The impact of all of this is extremely broad. Unfortunately, disruptions have resulted in the education of children and youth.

School is Not What it Used to Be

School is supposed to be a safe haven for students of all ages. For educators, school is their home…a place that they have been called to…a place where their heart and soul is connected to their purpose.

As noted, President Trump made verbal claims that coronavirus does not affect children. Because of this, he led efforts to strongly urge schools to return to delivering in-person services to students. It can be argued that he used intimidation tactics by stating multiple times that funding would be withheld from schools that failed to open as usual. His avid followers joined these efforts. As a result, many schools reopened.

Since the time of their reopening, children of all ages have been contracting the coronavirus in record numbers. This is also true for teachers and other school personnel who have been placed in harm’s way. Some schools gave students the right to make a choice about wearing a facial mask. Unfortunately, it came to no surprise when the cases of covid-19 rapidly spread in these environments.

Coronavirus cases have also risen in schools that have accentuated the standard safety protocols routinely shared with the public. As prescribed by health officials, they included:

• good hand sanitation;
• wearing facial masks;
• social distancing of at least six feet; and
• maintaining good ventilation.

Many schools have been forced to close as cases of the coronavirus increases in many parts of the United States. The president and his avid followers have been proven wrong about their assertions regarding children remaining unharmed by the coronavirus. Again, their reality has been distorted.

Many families have been devastated because of this.

Sadness Overshadows Many Families

Families throughout the nation continue to suffer the unspeakable consequences that the pandemic has unapologetically unleashed.

Fear has gripped the hearts and souls of citizens who have been prepared to fight the covid-19 battle. They have defended the most defenseless members of society. This has been evidenced by their compliance to the safety guidelines developed by experts deeply associated with medical science. Despite all of this, illness has visited thousands of homes. Hospitalizations have followed. Death has also released waves of grief throughout our land.

Parents and caregivers have been consumed by stress because of the circumstances they have been forced into. They either have had to supervise children at home while they have participated in their virtual educational programs or they have had to decide whether or not to permit their children to return to school for in-person learning. Parents and caregivers have had to manage household responsibilities while working at home in increased numbers, too.

Families have had to confront economic hardship head-on as the pandemic left many unemployed, without finances, in danger of foreclosure or eviction, and utterly homeless. The personal pride of many were shaken as they drove through food distribution centers to receive food to feed their children, elderly family members, and friends.

The entire family has needed to adjust to a new sense of normal where the leisure time activities and travel that once brought happiness and pleasure became reduced to modified occurrences where friends and loved ones physically distanced themselves from those they are emotionally close to.

These are just some of the ways that the family has been impacted by a very real pandemic.

Conclusion

An augmented reality about the coronavirus was initiated by the President of the United States. He failed to share the truth about the deadly impact of this dreaded contagion.

Donald Trump aligned himself with deception. His rhetoric reflected his corrupt reality, which was his singular truth about the coronavirus. The leader of our nation made the corrupt decision to downplay the lethal power of the virus. Because of the distorted opinion of what he shared to the citizens and by minimizing the power of the pandemic, many of his cult-like followers embraced his perspective. Now, the depraved reality of the president and so many members of the public has become pervasive in our nation. Several terrible consequences have been unleashed because of this.

First of all, many people have politicized the pandemic. This has been evidenced by their refusal to adhere to the established health and safety guidelines associated with controlling the spread of the coronavirus. For many of these people, wearing a mask and social distancing weakens their political party and their eternal allegiance to President Trump.

Next, the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in the United States. The education of children and young people has been disrupted in unprecedented ways. Sadly, the health, safety, and well-being of students and educators who report to schools that have reopened remain highly jeopardized. The family has been devastated in unspeakable ways, too.

Finally, the death toll mounts each day. At this period in time, thousands Americans have died from the coronavirus. These precious souls represent a reflection of all of us.

This augmented reality must be abandoned. Truth must speak the truth without deceiving the masses. The coronavirus is very dangerous and it is very deadly.

If you liked this article, here are more that you may enjoy.

Many writers have been speaking their truth about the way that President Trump has mishandled the coronavirus. A few examples evidenced in their articles follow.

I have also published several relevant articles. The links follow.

Here is my golden ticket that helps me accomplish my mission.

Dr. Deborah M. Vereen is a retired Teacher and School Administrator. Her website is www.Drdeborahmvereen.com and her YouTube Channel is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS1DPhBeA29UlybU9jzDkdQ .