The picture above illustrates a paradox. Is it possible to take COVID-19 seriously, express concerns about the economy, and worry about the expansion of authoritarian government policies without being accused of being uncaring, unfeeling, and calloused as it relates to human suffering?
The coronavirus pandemic has certainly brought the best and worst out of people. The mainstream media and the social media bullies are using their extremists’ viewpoints to intimidate, belittle, degrade, shame, and engage in intellectual snobbery against anyone who does not capitulate with the stay at home orders. In fact, if you question the current lockdown situation or even attempt to suggest that we need to get back to work sooner rather than later, the social media mob attacks with a vengeance. I am taking screenshots of all of it because I think these people need to be exposed, and they will be in future blog posts. But let’s address the paradoxical question of whether you can worry about people’s health, the economy, the expansion of authoritarian governments, and still be a kind, decent, and caring human being.
As our economy continues to crumble, are we, as a nation, going to have to continue to rely on the government to support the American people? How long can our government continue writing checks? How long will the American people continue to remain in a shutdown? Forever? Two years? 18 months? I don’t think the American people will go for it. The civil unrest we are seeing was predictable. Stir crazy is a real thing and will manifest itself in numerous psychological reactions according to DSM-V.
The original objective of the shutdown was to flatten the curve so that our healthcare system didn’t become overwhelmed. We are getting close or have already accomplished that objective in many places. Now, some of our politicians and medical leaders want to move the goal post. And let me address the elephant in the room. The perception that people who are worried about the economy don’t care about human life is sheer, unsympathetic idiocy. I have seen some truly despicable posts. Here are some examples. “Hope there’s a ventilator for you.” “I can’t wait to see how they react when they catch Coronavirus.” “People are so selfish and uncaring. All they care about is the economy.” “I can’t wait for them to lose someone they love.”
We are talking about the destruction of millions of jobs. We have hard-working American people who never thought in their lifetime that they would have to rely on a check from the government or obtain food from a food bank. There is a tremendous amount of real-life suffering going on right now. People losing their jobs, small business owners watching their businesses being crushed by this pandemic. People are suffering tremendously with mental health issues including anxiety and suicidal thoughts. In fact, when unemployment rises by one percent, you can add 10,000 additional suicides. That’s not me saying that. That’s Aaron Reeves from Oxford University. And let’s add a significant rise in alcohol, drug addiction, and domestic violence. To pretend that suffering is binary, you’re either dead or alive, is a very simplistic and narrow-minded. This article tells the tale of the suffering that is has been caused by this pandemic.
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/health-coronavirus-usa-cost/
Take care, friends. We will get through this.
Bill Garner
Founder Abundant Path Consulting
