EDITORIAL: Lives matter more than the economy
At certain junctures throughout America’s history, we’ve been asked to make sacrifices – sometimes irrevocable sacrifices – for the common good and for abstract concepts like liberty and justice.
Last week, President Trump and many of his allies tossed out the notion that Americans might need to make sacrifices – maybe even the ultimate sacrifice – not for anything as lofty as this country’s safety and ideals, but to keep the Dow Jones Industrial Average pointed skyward.
On Tuesday, Trump stated that he wanted the country “opened” by Easter and social distancing measures eased, even though public health officials have stated unequivocally that the coronavirus would almost certainly not be tamed by then, and Americans, like people in many other nations, would have to remain hunkered down in their homes.
In an interview on the Fox News Channel Tuesday, Trump seemingly shrugged off the illness and death that would result if people started gathering in large numbers again prematurely.
“We lose thousands of people a year to the flu,” he mused. “We never turn the country off. We lose much more than that to automobile accidents. We didn’t call up the automobile companies and say, ‘Stop making cars. We don’t want any cars anymore.’ We have to get back to work.”
The day before, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of Texas made the jaw-dropping pronouncement that vulnerable seniors should be happy to put their health and lives on the line so their grandchildren can keep punching a clock and their employers can keep their profit margins plump. In an interview with Fox’s Tucker Carlson, he stated, “Let’s get back to living. Let’s be smart about it. And those of us who are 70-plus, we’ll take care of ourselves, but don’t sacrifice the country. … Our biggest gift we give to our country and our children and our grandchildren is the legacy of our country, and right now, that is at risk. … I think we can get back to work.”
One right-wing denizen of Twitter even mused on how those most likely to perish from the coronavirus were expensive to care for and unproductive.
How callous. How remarkably callous.
First, the notion that a certain number of Americans can be deemed expendable for the health of quarterly reports and, let’s be honest, Trump’s reelection odds, is grotesque. It’s like something that would have come from the regime of a Stalin or a Mao, where fulfilling a half-baked five-year plan was of ultimate importance, even if peasants were starving in the countryside.
Yes, it’s going to take time to repair the damage the coronavirus lockdown will inflict on the economy, but the first priority is to slow the rate of infection and death.
Besides, even if we returned to “normal” again, how many people would be willing to head for shopping centers and sports arenas if we are seeing nightly news footage of hospitals overrun with coronavirus patients, or we are consumed with worry about our own health or that of our families?
It’s time for Trump and his friends to realize that the economy exists to serve humans. Humans don’t exist to serve the economy.