I know now, what I didn’t a month ago.
That school closures means that 50% of our school children would have to go without food; children would huddle in the cold under the school’s canopy to access Wi-Fi; and there would be no home-schooling for the homeless.
I see broken institutions.
I recall the photos of people lined up for food during the depression. Now, cars—once the symbol of entry to middle class— are snaking for miles, queuing for food. From pay-check to paycheck, millions are living on the precipice, with no savings for a cloudy day.
I see the most prosperous country in the world, its fragility exposed.
African Americans and Latinos are disproportionately succumbing to the virus. Why the underlying medical conditions? Why no access to healthcare? Why no access to healthy food? Why the mind-boggling poverty? When did the holes in our safety net get so large that people are falling through the holes.
I see an economy broken.
But I don’t see why the most industrialized country in the world cannot produce enough surgical masks? Why do little old ladies have to be stitching face masks using tee-shirts!
I see people worrying they won’t have money for groceries, while dairy farmers are discarding milk, and vegetables are rotting in the fields. I don’t see why we cannot salvage food.
I know now that the CDC refused to accept the WHO test kits, insisting: ‘we will do it ourselves’. They contaminated the kits, delaying the testing, and thousands died. Compound that with the FDA refusing to allow private labs to do the testing, and thousands more died.
I see what is broken with our governmental oversight!
And I see a leader muse that we get a shot of disinfectant.
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