I’m beyond infuriated with the way the Trump administration has handled this situation. I just saw that the U.S case numbers have soared beyond China, so now we have more cases than any other nation. I mean sure, we got the COVID-19 strain in January when it erupted in Wuhan, China. But, the LIES, the misinformation, the delays, and the minimization of what disease can do is absolutely despicable. I hate that our president has denied science by saying “oh it’s not as bad as the flu”, spread xenophobia, chastised and silenced a NPR reporter who diligently asked why he dubbed COVID-19 as ‘the Chinese Virus’ and told the reporter that he/she is a bad reporter. I think it’s shameful that we live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world and YET our healthcare system is overwhelmed, we didn’t have tests widely available right from the get go, doctors don’t have proper PPE and surgical masks to wear, etc. I could go on. We could have done better. Much, much better.
What really sets me on edge is that our delayed actions not only costed us lives, but also robbed students of their educational experiences temporarily, set the economy in a backwards spiral, people are getting laid off, graduating seniors have postponed/cancelled graduations, people are self-isolating so that we can more effectively deal with the crisis and in turn, elevates levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. As a citizen, I am trying my best do self-isolate and practice social distancing so that our healthcare system does not become overwhelmed. But, I hope that government can at least recognize that self-isolation is difficult on citizens too — the emotional and personal upheaval that goes with it. I wish government would understand what that sacrifice is and meet us halfway. We could have done better — we just chose not to.
My favorite historian, Yuval Noah Harari wrote this article in TIME, ‘In the Battle Against Coronavirus, Humanity lacks Leadership” We have handled epidemics and pandemics before with good leaders who were willing to step up and believe in science. Last time, I remember people were afraid of Ebola, but under American Leadership, Ebola barely laid a finger on the health of our nation.
COVID-19 has exposed many of society’s pitfalls from socio-economic disparities, Trump’s isolationist policies,lack of much needed global cooperation, our expensive healthcare system, our fragile economy, etc. I hope we can wake up and fix these issues. I do believe that COVID-19 is a hard lesson for everyone with high costs, whether we like it or not.
//my thoughts are purely from my personal observations, conversations with friends and family, news pieces I’ve read. I’m not an expert on anything.