Covid-19 exposes the pre-existing crisis

Yesterday afternoon walking in Rock Creek Park, it was fairly quiet; very few people were still out near dusk. It felt like being in the eye of a storm. It was like Christmas Day - so quiet. 

I’ve had a lot of time to think this week, and to read the news obsessively. I’m one of the fortunate few (relatively speaking). I’m lucky to have a secure job: I can telework, and my income won’t stop. I’m a middle class, middle-aged guy. 

However I am really concerned about the current situation. Mostly for friends and relatives and people generally who are at risk from Covid-19 because of their work or health status. Or both. 

For my friend who is a nursing assistant; because the outpatient therapy clinic shut down, may soon be transferred to the hospital with COVID-19 patients. Or else be laid off. Neither are good choices. They can’t afford not to work. 

For my cousin, who works in property management and will soon be troubleshooting hundreds of tenants who can’t pay their rent, and scores of landlords who won’t be able to pay repair bills and mortgages. 

For my father who is almost 90 and lives in Florida. He’s overall healthy, however he is still high risk. And if he gets ill, I could not travel to see him. I would be saying goodbye over FaceTime. 

When our society is about to collapse because people can’t work for one week, there is a systemic problem. And it’s collapsing because it is based on endless consumption: Slow that consumption for even a brief period, and crisis ensues. Financial panic and collapse loom. 

For decades we have been making decisions based on profit projections, not public health and safety. And the profit motive has completely subsumed our political processes with no limitations on super PAC activities and court decisions such as citizens united, which absurdly equates the rights of a corporation with those of a human being. 

There is a pre-existing condition here, which is the wallpaper to the Covid-19 crisis. The condition is that democracy has been all but replaced by capitalism as the true governing system in power. And we are all “infected” with a pre-existing condition called greed. 

I want more. I want convenience, I want comfort, I want what I want when I want it. And I don’t easily stop to think what the effect will be on others. This drives buying, getting, accumulating, spreading, consuming, gathering more and more resources, because I can and I want... 

When policy makers debate whether or not poor people should get any help during a pandemic emergency, so that they can buy food and pay rent, there is a systemic problem. 

When physicians realize that within days or weeks they are going to be deciding who will get  lifesaving equipment and who won’t - because the healthcare systems are driven by profit margins and not medical care standards - there is a systemic problem. 

When there is a pandemic emergency fueled in part by catastrophic global environmental destruction, and there is no enacted plan to address this environmental crisis, there is a systemic problem. 

We are not going to return to normal anytime soon. It is possible things will NEVER “return to normal.” And in fact, in the long run, they really can’t. They shouldn’t. 

Yesterday the Washington Post ran an article, “After the Pandemic,” which began: “If history is any guide, not much will change in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.” That is a terrifying prediction, which reflects some of the deeply divergent current viewpoints within our country. 

A segment of US residents want to “go back to the good old days.” But those days were not good for many. And our population was smaller, and younger. And our economy was very different. For one thing it was largely rooted in manufacturing, not services and technology. Overall the world was very different. We were much less interconnected. That is all the past. 

Today, our so-called “normal” is not really okay. Way too many of us are living on the brink. We are a paycheck away from a crisis. We must fix this. It is time for massive systemic changes. It’s overdue. I hope we are not too late to prevent a lot more damage. This Covid-19 crisis is another wake-up call in a series of global crises to demonstrate that we no longer have much choice; like it or not, it’s time. We know about making major sacrifices for good causes. This is one of those times. It is the biggest challenge we have faced in several generations. And many people have been sounding the alarms. Will we listen? How will we respond?