It\u2019s already starting to happen. The healing. The power to love one another. The excitement of a shared commitment. The sense of wholeness when we know we belong to something larger than ourselves. \u00a0It\u2019s been a long time coming, but the blossoms are opening. No one can take this from us now.<\/p>\n
Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York keeps telling us we are going to defeat the \u201cbeast\u201d of this virus epidemic and come out the other end better and stronger. It\u2019s tragic that it has taken such a scourge to wake us up to the damage we\u2019ve done to ourselves and our planet, but better late than never.<\/p>\n
This is one very short version of how we got to the point of electing a con man as president:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 During the Great Depression of the 1930\u2019s, American leaders turned to the ideas of British economist John Maynard Keynes. He taught that the best way to stimulate a moribund economy was to increase government spending and lower taxes. The Roosevelt administration developed dozens and then, eventually, hundreds of different programs to help individual citizens succeed and prosper. Basic necessities were subsidized. Unions built a comfortable life for workers. \u00a0A sense of community flourished on the local level. And \u201cHappy Days are Here Again\u201d became the national theme song, at least for European Americans.<\/p>\n
Post-World War II became \u201cthe American century,\u201d partly because most of the other powerful nations had been laid low by the war. With basic necessities such as food and shelter being met for most citizens, the need for more progress became apparent, and we entered the age of Aquarius. \u00a0Giving birth is never easy, but the heroes of the civil rights, women\u2019s rights, Native American rights struggles helped us keep our eyes on the prize of equality and opportunity for everyone. \u00a0We had time to study the environment and recognize the damage we were doing to Mother Earth.<\/p>\n
So, what happened to Camelot?\u00a0 How did we get from loving our planet and each other to a hundred thousand of us dying from an unseen virus?<\/p>\n
In short, some very smart people wanted to become even richer than they already were and financed a plan to tap into the less humanitarian parts of our human nature. They turned to economists like Milton Friedman who preached the philosophy of limited government, personal freedom and winner takes all. Using emotionally charged issues, they cornered the market on voter turnout.<\/p>\n
Over time, our more advanced sense of humanitarianism and cooperative behavior began to fade, and folks became downright suspicious of government and each other. We became more interested in stroking our own egos, living the good life, and filling the void in our lives with compulsive consumerism.<\/p>\n
And while we were looking forward to weekends and partying, we didn\u2019t notice that very few of us were accumulating a larger and larger share of the wealth we were all creating.<\/p>\n
The rich got richer and the poor got poorer over the last few decades. No one can deny that. Automation, globalization and the dismantling of our common bonds brought us to a dark place where murder and suicide now outnumber deaths from some of the major diseases. As the virus spreads across the country, people are buying guns, and domestic violence is a major issue. In short, we are a sick society.<\/p>\n
But the pandemic has also given us time to examine our lives, our culture and our future. \u00a0Despite the damage being done by a tiny virus, we\u2019ve re-imagined a society based on cooperation, sacrifice and love. We are rewriting our common story without even being aware of it. \u201cWe are all in this together.\u201d<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve seen many examples of shared community on TV:<\/p>\n
\u2026using 3 D printers to make face masks<\/p>\n
\u2026organizing virtual meetings, family gatherings, church services<\/p>\n
\u2026adapting to online learning, expanding broadband<\/p>\n
\u2026turning face mask sewing into an artistic competition<\/p>\n
\u2026adjusting to working from home and saving on gas<\/p>\n
\u2026individual singers and instrumentalists combining their talents online (How do they do that?<\/p>\n
\u2026New ways of celebrating traditional events such as birthdays and graduations<\/p>\n
\u2026Neighborhood parties with social distancing, drive in theaters for live concerts<\/p>\n
\u2026Eager participation in local outreach efforts such as food drives, checking on neighbors, delivering food and medicine to senior citizens<\/p>\n
The epidemic has also brought to our attention issues that have been simmering behind the scenes for a long time. The good news is that we are now more open to solving some of those problems.<\/p>\n
Gov. Cuomo has filled the role of moral leader left vacant by the White House during this national tragedy. One issue he is addressing head on is the disproportionate effect of this virus on communities of color. Working with church leaders in the hardest hit neighborhoods, the NYC public health department has set up testing sites in those churches to track the virus. The plan is to go well beyond serving those communities during the epidemic. What they learn and accomplish can be replicated in other parts of the country.<\/p>\n
The pandemic has brought our attention also to the appalling conditions in some Native American communities. \u201cNavajo Nation,\u201d in the Southwest, has one of the highest rates of disease and death caused by COVID-19. The question is:\u00a0 How is it possible that people living in the richest country in the world don\u2019t have immediate access to potable water?\u00a0 The governor of Arizona is doing all she can with state resources, but the Indian Health Service (part of HHS) is AWOL. \u00a0This can and will be fixed with a Democratic president in the White House.<\/p>\n
Pollution is bad in most of our country but much worse in cities. Now is the time to address urban health issues, especially those affecting children. We\u2019ve known for decades about the rates of asthma in big cities and how children have to miss school on \u201corange alert\u201d days. Decades ago, when we were, as a society, sincerely interested in making life better for everyone, a big campaign forced paint companies to remove lead from their products because it causes damage to children\u2019s brains. Now imagine a campaign like that directed at fossil fuel companies and other polluters.<\/p>\n
We see on TV the before and after photos of polluted cities. When people work from \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0home and don\u2019t drive or use public transit, the air is cleaner and healthier. Now is the perfect time to revive the enthusiasm for saving the environment that began in the 1970\u2019s. \u00a0For starters, our new president must rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement and begin repairing our relationships around the world. \u00a0Environmental groups have been stigmatized by the big polluters, but we can gradually change that with our support of those organizations. Imagine the creativity of our younger generations and how much they can accomplish in a short time.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing to prison shouldn\u2019t be a death sentence.\u201d\u00a0 Sadly, it took a deadly virus to bring prison reform front and center for discussion. The prison industrial complex, aided and abetted by businesses looking for cheap labor, must be thoroughly examined. There is nothing \u201ccorrectional\u201d about a system that traps people during a pandemic.<\/p>\n
Just as shockingly, we\u2019ve been forced to learn about the inhumane treatment of immigrant laborers, especially in meat packing plants. This is the time for Congress to finally face the need for comprehensive immigration reform and for us to elect a president who will inspire that effort. \u00a0And, yes, it\u2019s time to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.<\/p>\n
Health care\u2026. It\u2019s time to detach health insurance from employment. This issue received plenty of attention during the Democratic debates, but the loss of work due to the pandemic now demonstrates why we need guaranteed medical care for everyone.<\/p>\n
Many of us shook our heads watching tens of thousands of pounds of food being plowed under for lack of markets. Milk had to be dumped too. This was happening as people out of work were lining up at food banks. It\u2019s time for some federal agency to work out a plan for transportation and distribution of food, not just in case of another pandemic, but also for the next wave of climate induced weather disasters.<\/p>\n
We need a new story to tell ourselves what we expect our \u201cnew normal\u201d to look like. It\u2019s pretty obvious we are never going back to the America of 2019. And that\u2019s a good thing because we have the opportunity now to rewrite our vision of the future. What have we learned from the worst disaster to hit our country since the Great Depression?\u00a0 In a way, we are seeing many of the same problems\u2026 hunger, homelessness, high unemployment, a fractured political system that plagued us back then.<\/p>\n
As described above, we, the people, have risen to the challenge of facing this epidemic head on. When hospital workers needed us, we rushed in to help. When leadership at the national level failed us, we organized and did amazing things in our own communities. This new spirit of togetherness and service to others has rekindled the love of community that was stolen from us in recent decades.<\/p>\n
Now we can build on those local connections\/<\/p>\n
Suggestions:<\/p>\n
\u2026Get to know someone new and different\u2026. There is a wonderful example in St. Louis each Christmas Day when Jewish and Muslim neighbors work together on hundreds of local projects while giving Christians a day to celebrate their holiday. The best way to reduce our fear of others or discomfort with people we are not used to being with is to work together on some local project of mutual interest. Local elected officials can facilitate these connections.<\/p>\n
\u2026Promote the arts\u2026. As President Kennedy said, \u201cWhen power corrupts, poetry cleanses, for art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstones of our judgement.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Those who want to control us work constantly to confuse us with \u201calternative facts,\u201d emotional distractions and ways to tempt out that lower part of human nature. Why else would they be promoting competitive and increasingly violent forms entertainment as \u201csports\u201d?\u00a0 Why do they insist on cutting funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, National Public Radio and Public Television?\u00a0 Why is it, when school budgets come under the knife, it\u2019s always the arts that go first?\u00a0 Think about it. \u00a0Remember the Maslow hierarchy of needs?\u00a0 Once we are fed and housed, we yearn for something psychologically and spiritually satisfying.<\/p>\n
\u2026Offer people a chance to be part of the decision-making process locally and nationally. We need to work on expanding voter participation starting with teaching some form of civics (and not just a \u201ccourse\u201d in it) to children and teenagers. Given the natural desire to join forces to help one another shown during the pandemic, this should be an obvious next step. Maybe we can reimagine how local government works to bring more citizens into the decision-making process. How do we include non-citizens who are essential members of our community and who pay taxes?<\/p>\n
\u2026Finally and most importantly, we need to rewrite the story we live by. George Monbiot, writer for the London Guardian, has written about this extensively. He describes the toxic ideology of extreme competition and individualism that has come to dominate the world that must change if we are to build a healthier society. What is needed now is the same \u201cstory\u201d people needed in past centuries after a cataclysmic disaster laid them low. Monbiot calls it the \u201crestoration story.\u201d\u00a0 We obviously need to restore the foundation of a healthy economy that meets people\u2019s basic needs. But, more than that, we need to listen to those better angels of our human nature Lincoln spoke about and create a new politics of belonging. The Biden campaign slogan has already been written:\u00a0 We are all in this together.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s already starting to happen. The healing. The power to love one another. The excitement of a shared commitment. The sense of wholeness when<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":628,"featured_media":41048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2582,3530],"tags":[3553,3531,3532],"yoast_head":"\n