A Particular Challenge for Us
Beyond the rhetoric, fact and figures tell the truth. Which is exactly why those who control and create the rhetoric are so desperate to at best avoid, and at worse, manipulate the numbers.
Take this article from the NY Times.
We are, without a doubt, headed for a nightmare situation, there is going to be a very large loss of life here in America.
Stop giving a damn about the economy everybody, start giving a damn about taking care of each other. Waiting for our government to solve this problem is futile, given the magnitude of this pandemic, this is going to come down to you and I regardless.
The magnitude and scale is a bit beyond imagination, so conspiracy theories are already popping up everywhere. Even governments are creating and engaging in the spreading of these conspiracies.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/china-trolling-world-and-avoiding-blame/608332/
So, let’s set aside how we got here, and focus on the reality of the situation we face here in America, and why this virus will be particularly difficult for us, a perfect storm of factors which will make this virus a defining moment in American history.
A Perfect Storm
This is a “New” virus
The Novel Coronavirus, now called SARS-CoV-2, causes the disease COVID-19. Since this virus is Novel (new) there is much more to still learn about this virus. This adds to uncertainty, and means we haven’t yet developed specific vaccines or anti-viral medication to combat this virus. In other words, there is no silver bullet against this virus, and there won’t be one anytime soon.
The president recently tweeting the name of a couple of drugs that may help with symptoms, this is a sobering moment. Our president is beyond desperate, the situation has already grown way out of hand, and he knows it.
Americans Don’t Have a Recent Comparable Outbreak
The last Pandemic to have a major impact on the United States was the 1918 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic.
We simply don’t have a frame of reference or contemporary experience with a pandemic. Most, if not all Americans who were adult age during the 1918 pandemic are no longer here to provide their wisdom.
Our President and Leadership Seem Unskilled
I could link hundreds of articles showcasing the Presidents mishandling of this pandemic, but anyone paying any attention at all to the politics of this situation, knows our political leaders could be doing a lot more, and for all intents and purposes, are failing us miserably.
Placing a priority on the political aspect of this crisis over the human health and welfare aspect is morally wrong and is a demonstration of extreme irresponsibility to duty.
Our leadership also seems to be placing a much larger emphasis on the health of the stock market and the economy as a whole, than they place on the health and welfare of our people. Yet another profit over people approach to governance. This is disgraceful even in times of plenty, reprehensible in times of crisis.
Obesity causes Corona Virus to Hit Harder
Obesity in America is an epidemic in and of itself. However, it would appear that obesity, and obese communities see an even more rapid spread and difficulty managing the disease.
https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
Although obesity is a multi-faceted problem, a for-profit food industry largely in control of the food supply, production, and distribution is for certain a major contributing factor. Something we should probably rethink post crisis.
A Constitutional Federal Republic is Not as Able to Manage Public as Other Forms of Government
Despite what most Americans believe, America is not a democracy, it is a constitutional federal republic. Under our constitution Americans have certain privileges and the government has some limitations over the daily lives and activities of Americans.
Under other forms of government, the government has much broader control over the citizens and their actions. For example, in China, the type of government is a communist party-led state, and so the Chinese government can exercise much broader control over the movement and activities of their citizens during a pandemic.
I am not suggesting America move to communism, just pointing out this difficulty we face in curtailing the transmission.
Individualism vs. Collectivism
Without being an advocate for individualism or collectivism, here in America, there is a profound culture of Individualism. What I want, when I want it, what is good for me, what is in my best interest, etc. In American culture, we have a tendency to think in a more individualistic way, as this is a large idea in American culture.
A citizenry with a culture of Collectivism, will be more likely to act in the interests of the common good, in contrast to a more individualist society.
Lower Scientific & Mathematical Achievement
America is far behind other nations in scientific and mathematical achievement. This hinders critical thinking and scientific understanding in general, making it much harder to spread technical and scientifically relevant information, critical in a Pandemic.
God is In Control
In a time of crisis, panic, or confusion, many turn to religion for comfort, support, and “spiritual relief.” If that works for you, good for you, the problem here is when your religion also tries to provide an explanation for what is happening, or even worse, causes one to dismiss or disbelieve the realities of this crisis.
This is just “God’s Will” or “God will protect me and my family” is very dangerous thinking. Secular solutions are the effective ones, and during a pandemic is no time for a “Jesus take the wheel” approach to life.
Following the recommendations of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) is a far better approach than listening to Preacher Steve proclaim what God’s intentions are and what you should do.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/prevention.html
Clusters of Elderly
This virus is particularly deadly to elderly. In America we have many facilities (nursing homes) where dozens to thousands of elderly are concentrated.
Our culture of small family units tend to land grandma and grandpa into managed care of some type, regardless of name, the result is the same, a high concentration of elderly in care facilities across the nation.
This can be a blessing or a burden, a blessing if the particular facility your loved one is in manages to avoid the pandemic, a major burden otherwise.
The alternative, checking your loved one out and bringing them home, presents its own array of concerns.
Distrust of Media and Government
Under the Trump administration, Fake News has become a common phrase. Journalism and News in general has been infiltrated by opinion “news” shows and operates under a ratings and for profit model that pressures journalism into being more sensational and more opinion based.
This creates a boy who cried wolf scenario. The motives of any given news outlet is now in constant doubt, and their agenda is always pressured by profitability.
Trust in government, especially during a crisis has been strained. Most all of us remember Katrina and other natural disasters and how terribly these disasters were managed.
Trump originally spoke of this pandemic and a hoax, and continues politicizing the reality we are facing, resorting to name calling a virus (the China Virus) isn’t sensibly what we need right now.
We need to find a way to restore confidence and trust into our main media outlets as well as key government institutions such as the presidency.
The best example of this aspect of this crisis is the lack of testing… if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it, and even the measuring of this disease has been stifled, politicized, and at worst, intentionally manipulated.
Panic During this Pandemic
Managing public stress, fear, and anxiety is definitely a bonafide responsibility of government at all levels.
Honesty, trust and reliability of information and managing expectations are critical to keeping the public psychologically calm and minimizing panic.
Panic across society can only cause more harm than good, government, the media, and us as individuals all need to do our part to prevent panicking while maintaining responsible and civil behavior.
American Exceptionalism
Americans are known around the world as having a belief (mostly false) that being an American is something special, sort of a better than the rest type of mentality. We are the best at everything and are unique in this world, we are the chosen people, God Bless America.
Well we are the best at some things, Hollywood, drug use, obesity, consumption, but certainly not the best at everything, healthcare and wealth distribution, and on thousands of other data points we are clearly not the best.
The naive sentiment of American Exceptionalism bestows upon our people that somehow, magically, simply by being American, we have enhanced powers against this virus.
This false sense of security, and false sense of capability arrogantly blinds us to the reality, and actually puts us at further risk.
Health Care Sector Grossly Unprepared
All reporting details massive shortages of supplies and care providers. From disbanding pandemic team to having an all for-profit health care system, we find ourselves caught with our pants down, scrambling to meet upcoming needs.
This isn’t one of those “didn’t see it coming,” kind of events. Given a global economic engine, global trade, travel, and commerce, it isn’t a matter of if but when, even applying the slightest hint of common sense.
Capitalism vs. Socialism
Capitalizing on a crisis, or any situation for that matter, is the black beating heart of the American Capitalist. We already see major corporations, their government cronies, and their morally bankrupt partners in the Federal Reserve maneuvering to leverage this crisis to drain off as much wealth from the working poor as possible.
Let’s be completely clear, this trifecta of imperialistic capitalism has created two categories of wealth, the ultra-rich and the working poor. The notion of a middle class has long passed. If you don’t know which tier you are in, this crisis will help you figure it out.
Also note, most already know this, but in terms of the Federal Reserve, it is operated as an independent, for-profit entity. The Federal Reserve describes itself as the central bank of the United States, it’s creation in 1913 represented the holy grail for imperialistic capitalism, and it hasn’t looked back.
Time and time again, operating under the premise of a crisis, the Federal Reserve creates money out of thin air, (well it is typed into a computer), and pumps it into the economy, but it doesn’t subsidize the working poor thereby giving everyday people the buying power to weather a crisis… no, instead it pumps billions and in many cases trillions of dollars directly into the treasure chests of large corporations and banks. Significantly increasing their wealth and power.
Almost nobody reads, but since you’ve made it this far, here is a book which describes in detail my statements above…
We are in fact a de-facto socialist country, the difference is government is at the service of the ultra wealthy, not our society at large.
The CURE
First and foremost, people need to be as civil as possible, and at least in the short term, think both individualistically and collectively… we must take care of ourselves and others.
Follow every guideline from the CDC and adopt every good practice you can to stay clear and clear from those who may be infected, quarantine yourself if you believe you may be sick or have been exposed, or at this point just make self quarantine normal practice.
Educate yourself right away… go the the CDC site immediately and read (at least twice) all the recommendations to protect yourself and your family.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
Update: September 2020 – I no longer recommend any information from the CDC as it has been politicized and is no longer a reliable source of information.
Prepare your family for the worst, both logistically and emotionally. Many Americans will die, and our nation will witness tremendous suffering, let your family know it is going to be very difficult for our entire nation, but this too shall pass and we will persevere, but this is not a Hoax, president Cheeto Jesus is the Hoax, it is important to stop listening or even paying attention to this man, Trump’s mismanaging of this crisis will invariable be responsible for many unnecessary American deaths, for which, unfortunately, he will never be held accountable.
Do not rely on the government to take care of you. Do whatever you can to take care of yourself and others. The American Government, although looks a lot like big brother, it is actually like the drug addicted cousin which keeps coming to you for money, and even when you give him some he still robs your house.
The Future
After the crisis, we must seriously consider a restructuring of our government. The current system of Kleptocracy, or Imperialistic Capitalism has once again failed Main Street, while Wall Street is drunk at the Christmas party lighting cigars with 100 dollar bills.
Socialism, a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole, it is the bane of imperial capitalism, and by means of propaganda, the concept of socialism here in America has become the antonym of freedom.
If the American people collectively owned the means of production, I am certain we would not be short of medicine, Personal Protective Equipment, hospital beds, and respirators, we would collectively order the factors to shift production to these items without delay.
We should move toward a three tier system, the first tier, let’s call “community trust” in which everything sacred to the health and welfare of the people is served first, things like food, clothing, shelter, education, health care, defense, and equitable access to public services, etc. is taken care of first.
Tier two would be “world trust” where the focus is on preserving the health of the environment, where this sector ensures we work with our counterparts around the world to preserve our environment and demilitarize the world. Tier two would work to bring things forward like the “Green New Deal.”
Tier three would be the “consumer goods” tier, which involves the production and consumption of consumer goods. This tier can be the capitalistic tier as no matter who the winners or losers are, the people and the environment remain protected.
The idea here is getting rid of any “____________ industrial complex.”
Community Trust is managed and operated by it’s own branch of government, which is 100% transparent and fully accountable to the people. The food and nutrition department ensures all Americans have equitable access to nutritious food. The clothing department ensures all Americans have suitable clothing. The shelter department ensures everyone has access to shelter from the elements, and so on.
The Community Trust is the first priority of the nation, and the basic needs of every American are met. Consumer spending is tier three and how people spend their consumer dollar are up for grabs.
Final Note
Technology is driving humanity into uncharted territory. What is the gun debate when a teenager can 3D print a machine gun. What is the pandemic prevention plan when nations, corporations, or bad actors can easily bio-engineer unimaginably horrific bio weapons. We already have the capability to eradicate every major city in the world with nuclear weapons, the first one detonated in 1945.
What is the propaganda debate when incredibly sophisticated AI system can manipulate the thoughts and behaviors of billions of people.
These are just near sighted concerns, the next 50 years of technological expansion will change nearly everything we know today.
Those in power have lusted for dominance as far back as history can see, and all new technological advances and discoveries have been weaponized.
In this contemporary technocracy, we need new forms of government that for once are designed to never place profits over people, guiding humanity into this brave new world ahead.