America: Are We Great Yet?

Before we get started let me say I love this country and I can’t think of another country in which I would rather live. I’ve thought about England, Ireland, and Canada but the language barrier is almost insurmountable. Don’t even get me started on Scotland. So, let’s get “down to brass tacks,” to use a hackneyed expression that probably is meaningless in those other so-called English-speaking countries. This pandemic has given us all more time to ponder important matters like, where does navel lint come from and which plant leaves are safe substitutes for toilet paper.

Like most politicians before him, our new president promised a better life through his guidance and further indicated that he alone could Make America Great Again. This latter promise presupposes we were great before, we were not great when he took the reins of our democracy, and that he could make meaningful improvements in our quality of life. Well, it’s been three years since he positioned his keister behind the Resolute Desk and I can now say that the light at the end of the tunnel is visible and it is the headlight of another train.

I see the light.

I can’t blame President Trump for this viral pandemic because I know he is not smart enough to have conjured up something this diabolical. He abhors science much as he does three-syllable words. What COVID-19 has shown us is the weaknesses of our form of government; at least in what it has become.

Healthcare

We see that our healthcare system is inadequate to perform in the circumstance of such a national crisis. While 9/11 was a national crisis, its devastation was localized to but a few states. The impact of 9/11 was felt around the world but the event did not unduly burden our healthcare system. This pandemic, however, has taxed our for-profit system of healthcare to the breaking point. We found out that we really don’t have much invested in our public health system either. It too was found wanting. Our healthcare workers are among the best in the world but the system mostly sucks, to use the technical term. We (our government) were so prioritizing capital gains and economic health, that we ignored the very foundation upon which the financial system was based, its people. We couldn’t test enough people fast enough to get a handle on the burgeoning situation. We (our government) dragged our collective feet and failed to take decisive action before the virus spread out of control.

Our stockpiles of crucial equipment like ventilators and PPE’s (we all now know that acronym) were woefully inadequate. Our just-in-time supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Farming out the manufacturing of critical medical supplies and equipment to foreign countries made financial sense but lacked the common sense that comes with proper planning and foresight.  We now see that American manufacturers were allowed to ship critical ventilators and PPEs to foreign customers into the month of March when much of Europe and Asia had banned such exports from their countries.  Our government officials were still downplaying the crisis.  When it comes to healthcare, failure is not an option.  I’m sure the top 1% will be fine and will get all the testing, drugs and respirators they need, but what of the rest of us?

Economy

Our economy had been touted as the best it had ever been. James Carville’s famous 1992 quote, “It’s the economy, stupid,” was put forward as a selling point for Bill Clinton’s bid for the presidency. When all else failed, our current president also stresses his perception of a great economy. He uses, like others before him, the stock market with its ever-rising Dow Jones and S&P 500 averages as shining examples of our great economy. Our low unemployment rate is also rolled out as part of a robust financial picture.

Hidden among those rosy numbers were the facts that 44% of people say that their expenses exceeded their income. Another 42% have no retirement savings. About half of all Americans would have trouble finding $400 for a financial emergency. Many wage earners are forced to work more than one job to make ends meet and the financially successful single wage-earning family is a rarity.  The forced shut-down of our normal daily commerce has shined its glaring light on the true frailty of the “World’s Greatest Economy.”  It is but a house of cards waiting on that first strong breeze.  A great economy cannot be measured solely at the top.

Leadership

In times of crisis, the true mettle of our leaders is tested. Great leaders lead almost effortlessly.  Those in a position of authority who do not possess leadership skills are easy to spot. Picture a man at a podium. He opens his mouth and tells you that he is taking care of things and those things will be getting back to normal soon.  He uses simple words strung together in platitudes and meandering blather.  He blames others for the current situation, tells you that nobody could have foreseen such a calamity, and gives himself a “Perfect 10” for his leadership.  This same individual, just a couple of weeks previous, told you that this was a minor malady, “this is the flu,” and that it would soon be gone. He now tells you that, “It’s not the flu,” and “It’s vicious.” He now states we will be lucky if only 100,000 to 200,000 Americans die of this “flu.” He told you, “anyone who wants a (COVID-19) test can get one,” even though you just heard from doctors, governors, and people with symptoms, that testing was unavailable or denied. He then responds to a pointed question from a reporter and he attacks that reporter as being stupid and refuses to answer the question. Now look back at that podium. Is the man in that picture tall, overweight, sporting a long red tie, reddish-blonde hair, and an orange spray-tan? Who could have guessed that one?

Now, picture a man sitting at a table who tells you that there are severe shortages of PPE’s, and there will be a shortage of critical care beds and necessary ventilators. He explains what he is doing to address the problem and what he thinks needs to happen at the federal level to ameliorate the upcoming crisis. He talks in clear and concise terms without much emotion. He handles questions from the press without attacking the reporter, no matter how difficult the question. Does that man look like Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York? Actually, it could have been Cuomo, or Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut, or Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, or Gavin Newsom of California, or any of a number of leaders from both sides of the political aisle. Fine leadership is available in this country, it just doesn’t currently reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC.

The US didn’t declare a national emergency until March 13th.  The sluggish response to this crisis by this administration will cost American lives that could have been saved.  Fear of damaging an economy which was the key to the president’s reelection bid created a hesitance to move more decisively.  To have taken on the mantle of leadership was not something a former reality TV star and real estate entrepreneur found in his comfort zone.  He can’t just fire someone or declare bankruptcy to get out of this one.  He can blame his current problems on previous administrations, his worries over the impeachment, his never-ending search for Hillary Clinton’s email server, Comey, the Deep State, or the Easter Bunny; just know that he says, “I accept no responsibility.”  On February 28th of this year, a St. Louis firm shipped 1.5 tons of N-95 masks to Hamburg Germany.  DeVilbiss, a Pennsylvania company, shipped 55 tons of respirator equipment to Belgium between February and mid-March.  Other nations had banned such sales out of their countries weeks prior.  We sail on a rudderless ship of fools, the Walloping Window Blind.  The lyrics from the first stanza come to mind now....,

A capital ship for an ocean trip
Was "The Walloping Window Blind, "
No gale that blew dismayed her crew
Or troubled the captain's mind.
The man at the wheel was taught to feel
Contempt for the wildest blow,
And it often appeared, when the weather had cleared,
That he'd been in his bunk below.

This song was on a children's folk song album I had years ago.

I asked the lead question that is the title of this article and wrote on the same topic back in 2017.  In that early diatribe, I evaluated Trump’s performance just seven months into his reign as King of the United States of America. My previous summary will suffice here as I quote myself, “I postulate that America was always great.  It continues to be great.  It is certainly greater than most of the alternatives.  Like any family this large, we have room for improvement.  We need to continually revisit what we are doing to see how we can make things better.  Not only for the privileged few at the pinnacle of our pyramid of wealth but also for the citizen base that provides the foundation of our democracy.”

Postscript:  The James Carville quote about the “economy stupid” was but one of three points he pushed home to campaign workers in 1992.  The lesser-known focus messages were “Change vs. more of the same” and “Don’t forget health care.”