Holding Center: COVID-19 reveals holes in political system
It feels like we’re heading into a tunnel. Rome has closed its churches. Disneyland has closed its doors indefinitely. Schools are empty. Everything is canceled.
This is an unprecedented moment in our lives –– even the swine flu in 2009, which claimed 12,469 lives in the United States, didn’t cause this level of social debilitation. Recognize that we are living through history.
And if history will remember anything from this moment, it will be the ways in which our leaders have failed us.
The time the U.S. government had to prepare was squandered by its lethargic reaction. We cannot blame the lack of testing exclusively on President Donald Trump, as there was a host of bureaucratic and logistical problems and disagreements that slowed the process of procuring testing kits.
That being said, his decision early on to undervalue the threat is largely responsible for our late reaction. He called the coronavirus a Democratic “hoax” as recently as Feb. 28.
And so the virus was allowed to spread in silence for six weeks, and as a result, the United States has the worst infection trajectory of any advanced country. Our lack of early response has caused untold economic disruption, and more importantly, it has cost lives.
But it’s the lack of moral leadership that leaves us without a much-needed signpost. In Trump’s national address on March 13, he stuttered through lies about firing the pandemic office and the availability of testing and even referenced a Google coronavirus website that did not exist.
“I don’t take responsibility at all,” our leader has said.
And so the responsibility is left to the people. We have the power to “flatten the curve” of infection rates, and we do this by distancing ourselves, by spending time away from the people and pastimes that we love.
While this will be easy for no one, it is catastrophic for the economically vulnerable members of our society. The virus has illuminated all the ways in which our institutions are broken. Our profit-driven health care system has charged people thousands of dollars for testing. Not only does this punish those who take the responsible course of action, but it places a heavy disincentive on getting the tests that can save lives.
Sadly, there are few who can afford to take weeks off work to self-quarantine, and we are left wondering why paid sick leave isn’t the norm outside of these circumstances and why we must live without social safety nets while the economy breaks records every year.
Even in the midst of a crisis, relief has been stalled by partisanship. On March 25, four Republican senators delayed a stimulus bill on the grounds that it was too generous to unemployed U.S. workers. They objected to the fact that some low-wage workers might receive more in unemployment than in their typical paychecks.
Their arguments skimmed over the reason for this increase: Unemployment benefits in the United States are not enough to keep a family above the poverty line.
But this is not business as usual –– not in the least. We should prepare to deal with the outbreak over the next several months, but it will only be as severe as we allow it to be. By sacrificing our time in the sun, we can take steam out of the engine that is exponential growth.
When the dust settles, we should choose to take lessons from this experience, to try and repair the holes in our institutions made visible by this disease. Viruses tend to recur; if we don’t make the necessary adjustments, we’ll be no less vulnerable when the next crisis hits.
This will be a difficult time, no doubt, but it’s the kind of challenge that defines a generation. Remember that the struggle of living through a pandemic is not for nothing. The young and healthy may not be at high risk of dying, but there are countless more who rely on their decisions. By taking time off work or going home for a semester, you are saving someone you may not even know.
So good luck, stay safe and remember to wash your hands.
Dillon Cranston is a sophomore writing about politics. His column, “Holding Center,” runs every other Wednesday.