SZ

We can differentiate between nationality, religion, and region classifications. But we have one thing in common – we are and will remain human. The divisive rhetoric of China virus provides the false narrative this is a foreign problem that has infiltrated our community.

A partial lie goes a far way.

COVID19 is a problem for the human species. Regardless of its origin, no human is safe. This is why I’m willing to bet nature had this menace all along. The collective actions of our species have created the ideal environmental conditions for COVID19. We (humans) chose to have a globalizing society. We choose to put profit before people or the environment. We chose to create multinational logistic systems that corroded our self-reliance (rustbelt USA) (Crandall, 1993). We choose to propagate technologies that eradicate hordes of species (pesticides). We chose to clog the air and cast smog over our homes.

We know this. Nature has known this. The virus loves this.

All of us are complicit in this era we live in. Some fight for change, revolution, others for supremacy, power. The capitalist system treats each dollar the same, indifferent about person.

COVID19 Virus has compounding effects in our present-day. Our sense of worry has been exploited in all the wrong ways. We have a shortage of toilet paper in the midst of a respiratory pandemic.

We are realizing how vulnerable our elders are.
We are realizing how vulnerable our servers are.
We are realizing how vulnerable our healthcare workers.
All of which have been stripped of all their dignity.

Nothing against assisted living facilities but at some point, you have to ask, is this industry able to withstand the impending flood of elder folk? The increase in the older population is only increasing. These death-homes (living moratoriums) were the heaviest head at the beginning of the pandemic.

US citizens are beginning to see logistical systems halting to an impasse. The same issues we face are affecting our upstream production partners. Yes, resources are NOW being directed to compensate for these losses, but the damage has already begun and effects won’t be seen until weeks if not months later. The service-based economy is frankly fucked for the foreseeable future. While millennials were gas-lighted for eating out and spending money through spending time, those servicing workers albeit in food, hospitality or tourism have been and will remain the most vulnerable economic population. They have no living wage, they have no equity, they are probably not even claiming depreciation on their assets (car) used in the gig economy (Uber, Postmate, etc.).

Most importantly, the healthcare system or the new battleground. A system built for saving people is now sending messages on spreading out resources as supplies inevitability diminish. These poor (literally – from the sheer amount of debt they are carrying) bastards (the unofficial mindset one must carry to “not bring the pain home”) are the new soldiers in the front line of the battle. The COVID19 battle. One healthcare worker referred to the industry as “working in retail where each customer has diarrhea.” Whether they’re nice or not doesn’t matter, they are sick. COVID19 19 patients are growing at a historical rate but it is not the only thing affecting US mortality. Thank these people, they are making a great sacrifice for you and me to have a tomorrow.

These partial truths are used for argument sake, but the results are the same. The brunt of this pandemic has yet to be realized. For the ones that will point to 3% unemployment being easily recovered, those 5.8 million people were known to not have employment then. That number is about to reach 30% unemployment at 58 million people according to the president of the Federal Reserve Bank St. Louis (Soergel, 2020). Look to your left, look to your right, one of you is now out of a job.

This part of the article is not about how the sausage (future) is made; it is about the effects of the sausage we will probably eat and the sausage from a better tomorrow.

 Sadly, this is probably going to happen:

We learn nothing from this pandemic. No widespread reforms to healthcare and geriatric care will be made. No changes will be made in securing a stable living wage for our fellow service industry workers or workers in general. No ways for young Americans to build wealth or accumulate assets will be made. The US infrastructure, be it healthcare infrastructure (already overstressed by the current pandemic), civil infrastructure (USA buildings, bridges, roads are at a D+ (ASCE, 2017)), production supply-chains (heavily reliant on other nations), telecommunication (exorbitantly high pricing for pathetic speeds) will remain overstressed and underfunded.

The COVID19 virus can have cascading effects on tomorrow. (Fingers crossed)

These changes will require serious attention to problems generalized above. The current reforms being made to infrastructure are weak at best. These reforms are based on agendas that have separate ulterior motives – is rarely a concerted effort equitably benefiting US citizens. My favorite example is asked any new doctor how many schools they apply to before getting into the school, let alone finishing. It is at least 10 to 15 submitted applications regardless of MD, OD, DD, PT.

First and foremost is taking action by balancing systems we have exploited for too long. We are being ravaged by a virus that preys on the respiratory system. We are also the ones that have put nature in a chokehold since the beginning of the first Industrial Revolution (1760). Environmental justice is a critical step in becoming resilient when the next inevitable pandemic strikes. The current pandemic has caused/allowed nature to enter into civilian territory.

Dolphins swimming in Venice.

Monkeys raiding Thailand.
Pollution is literally dissipating.

We will be naïve to see these environmental happenstances as a consequence of the virus as opposed to the cause of the virus. Removing the pressures on nature requires systemic changes with proper resources, not standing ovations at the UN.

Workers in the US economy deserve to begin creating wealth for themselves. Currently, these opportunities are only afforded by people with strong tailwinds or businesses that can leverage debt.

Building wealth should be the focus of young people, not earning enough to make rent. I understand poor people are easier to coerce but even the bottom limits of what constitutes poor can be raised. On the bright-hand side, the top earners, who capture most of the new US income, are going to be the hardest hit by the pandemic.

Finally, health care, the awkward dinner topic at any table, be it at the family table or a fast food table.  The effects of high sugar and fat diet are outside the scope of this article. We live in an era where CAPACITY is the issue. People are bound to use more and more health services as time goes on. Our current healthcare system is already hitting resource capacities at the ramp-up stage of the COVID19 pandemic.

Here, cascading changes will affect entry into med school to geriatric care. This will require large sums of capital and concerted efforts. The likelihood of these changes taking place requires a different mindset. We cannot afford to think about I and me when it comes to healthcare policy. Voting with your pocketbook only works in your favor as long as your earning. Chances are you will need help when you start shitting yourself because of a neurodegenerative disease. This help should be the norm for all elderly people.

I believe in you getting that help. Will I do it… maybe. I will make sure the younger generations do not squabble about these issues.

Mother Earth is grounding all humans and sending them to their rooms. What the hell does the spanking entail?

References

ASCE. (2017). America’s Infrastructure Score is a D+. Retrieved from infrastructure report: https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/making-the-grade/

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2020). New Release. Washington D.C.: US GOV.

Crandall, R. (1993). The Continuing Decline of Manufacturing in the Rust Belt. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution.

Soergel, A. (2020, March 23rd). Fed Official Warns of 30% Unemployment. Retrieved from US News: https://www.usnews.com/news/economy/articles/2020-03-23/fed-official-unemployment-could-hit-30-as-coronavirus-slams-economy