06-14-2020, 04:59 PM
I have bemoaned the state of the government's response at many levels to COVID-19, but we are far from a failed state.
The examples you give are notable because they are exceptions to the rule. Given the magnitude of the disruption of COVID-19, I actually find it impressive how well the country has adapted and continued to meet most of its citizens' basic needs.
The food supply suffered minor hiccups as thousands of schools and restaurants closed and millions of people started to make food from home, and the virus descended on meatpacking plants. Yes, there are stories of farmers who have no place to take their milk and are pouring it down the drain, and of shortages of meet, but by and large the food supply has held up remarkably well. Most supermarkets are adequately stocked, and while some stores may be out of select items, we are not talking about what you would see in a failed state where people queue up for hours at the store. Your friends who live close to CHAZ might be inconvenienced because their local Trader Joes can't stock up but there are two Safeways and two Whole Foods within five blocks of that TJs.
The water supply has held up really well. What happened in Flint is, of course, an abomination, but the vast majority of the country can turn on the tap and get clean water on demand. And while we have issues long term, I am also confident that we will solve them.
Your choice not to fly is understandable, but is also your choice. I too have avoided travel since the pandemic started, but if I had to travel cross country (say because of the imminent death of a relative), I could and would.
We have underinvested in infrastructure, sure. But truth be told most dams, bridges, tunnels and freeways are functioning, and we will always have to close parts of our infrastructure off to update, maintain, expand, or build new. There is no way that we can freeze a city in amber and not have construction somewhere at some time that will inconvenience somebody.
Anyway, I get the sentiment that we've all been severely impacted by things. But maybe its because I actually lived in a developing country for much of my early life that I view a lot of what you discussed as "first world problems". Say what you want, but in these times when the system has been severely stressed by the coronavirus, food is still available, the water pipes and sewers are still functioning, the garbage is still being picked up, you can still get to another part of the country if you have to, most of our roads, bridges, tunnels, train tracks, etc., are still working, and society has held up remarkably well. I am most heartened by the fact that the protests against police violence have continued and by and large have been almost uniformly peaceful. There was a period a couple week ends ago when you could have imagined that streets boiling over and an overly militarized response resulting in a full fledged confrontation between protesters and law enforcement. And yet, virus aside, I would feel completely comfortable taking my kids to the local protests. For all the pent up anger and frustration, life has actually continued more or less as we expect.
BC
The examples you give are notable because they are exceptions to the rule. Given the magnitude of the disruption of COVID-19, I actually find it impressive how well the country has adapted and continued to meet most of its citizens' basic needs.
The food supply suffered minor hiccups as thousands of schools and restaurants closed and millions of people started to make food from home, and the virus descended on meatpacking plants. Yes, there are stories of farmers who have no place to take their milk and are pouring it down the drain, and of shortages of meet, but by and large the food supply has held up remarkably well. Most supermarkets are adequately stocked, and while some stores may be out of select items, we are not talking about what you would see in a failed state where people queue up for hours at the store. Your friends who live close to CHAZ might be inconvenienced because their local Trader Joes can't stock up but there are two Safeways and two Whole Foods within five blocks of that TJs.
The water supply has held up really well. What happened in Flint is, of course, an abomination, but the vast majority of the country can turn on the tap and get clean water on demand. And while we have issues long term, I am also confident that we will solve them.
Your choice not to fly is understandable, but is also your choice. I too have avoided travel since the pandemic started, but if I had to travel cross country (say because of the imminent death of a relative), I could and would.
We have underinvested in infrastructure, sure. But truth be told most dams, bridges, tunnels and freeways are functioning, and we will always have to close parts of our infrastructure off to update, maintain, expand, or build new. There is no way that we can freeze a city in amber and not have construction somewhere at some time that will inconvenience somebody.
Anyway, I get the sentiment that we've all been severely impacted by things. But maybe its because I actually lived in a developing country for much of my early life that I view a lot of what you discussed as "first world problems". Say what you want, but in these times when the system has been severely stressed by the coronavirus, food is still available, the water pipes and sewers are still functioning, the garbage is still being picked up, you can still get to another part of the country if you have to, most of our roads, bridges, tunnels, train tracks, etc., are still working, and society has held up remarkably well. I am most heartened by the fact that the protests against police violence have continued and by and large have been almost uniformly peaceful. There was a period a couple week ends ago when you could have imagined that streets boiling over and an overly militarized response resulting in a full fledged confrontation between protesters and law enforcement. And yet, virus aside, I would feel completely comfortable taking my kids to the local protests. For all the pent up anger and frustration, life has actually continued more or less as we expect.
BC