If nothing, the silver lining that may come from this is people start acknowledging that their public health and livelihoods are more important than economic gains.
Our hearts make it rich, not the dollars that bolster our global economy. Of course we can have a reasonable balance at some point in the future but we have to rethink our short and long term strategies, risks and challenges to tackle things like climate change and neglecting public health. These two things are intertwined.
The experts in 2015 who warned us that we were grossly underprepared to handle an epidemic of this magnitude are the same scientists who are telling us we must take drastic action on climate change to slow the spread of our fatality (basically).
Our healthcare is much more important to our livelihood than the economic system that prioritizes wealth at the sacrifice of our health. We generally only live 70-90 years. If anything this pandemic should make us value the quality of our life more by making us stare down and face our own mortality right in its eyes.
If we want to preserve life and protect the interests of all of humanity, we should do what we know is right and protect the planet and treasure our collective health. Sometimes that comes at the sacrifice of what we thought we once cherished more. Let us come together in this time, heal a nation that’s wounded by valuing life and public safety and health. Let us come back stronger with a better healthcare system that not only cares about health outcomes but also addresses our private health expenses and considers the death rate of folks who simply can’t get the life-saving treatment they need.
In the 90s, Hillary Clinton was pushing for a universal healthcare system. I know some of you hate her but she had the vision to understand how important our lives’ ties to our healthcare is. Let’s have the vision for electing more leaders in the mold of Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama, and yes, Bernie Sanders (we need to come together and put this stuff behind us.) Let’s focus on what’s at stake and find common ground on the things that we value in life. Doing so will ensure that we have a unified interest in valuing life.
Do your part. Fight for us and stay home. Wash your hands. Wear masks. Encourage others to do the same. Provide support to those in need. Fight for a more just and a more affordable healthcare system and cleaner and safer environment. We need an environment that allows us to live long, healthy and happy lives.