We must all resist the temptation to want the COVID crisis to end quickly. This has proved our undoing once, and it could do so again. People with money who aren't senior citizens need to admit that we haven't had it that badly at all. Yes, we may be a little stir crazy, we may miss hugging family and friends and parties and sports and all kinds of things, but we haven't had it that bad. We are safe, well-fed, and have had the opportunity to spend time with our families. If you are white collar, employed and haven't had that, it's your own damned fault for planning poorly or being an asshole to your kids somewhere down the line.
The real problem has not been COVID per se, but poor healthcare and safety nets for the lower wealth, who live crowded and are forced to work in epidemiologically risky roles. For example, in skilled nursing facilities, where a higher risk population resides. So really our failure to allocate resources to care for our seniors is biting us in the ass.
With all of that said, I read a piece in the Economist from a couple of weeks back on the history of hygiene and its connection to the rise and fall of civilizations that pointed out that early in the 19th century, the average life expectancy of the working class in England was about 22. Half of all kids died by the age of 5. We have come a long way from that through the evolution of public health.
As for me, it's off to the thankfully proverbial coal mine.
No comments:
Post a Comment