Our Health Drives Our Country
Whether it is a deadly virus or chronic disease, our health is a challenge. It has the power to unify us as people or divide us as a nation. Any threat to our health that attempts to control our mobility, finances, and relationships has an immediate and lasting effect on who we are, how we operate, and if we survive.
With coronavirus escalating and requiring that we practice social distancing, we are struggling with our interpretation of what that means. For some, it simply means not going to work but carrying on as usual. For others, it is a complete lifestyle change. Walking six feet from anyone if you walk anywhere at all, having no home visitors, ordering everything for delivery, or simply staying home. It also means carrying hand sanitizer with you at all times, washing hands continuously, and only communicating by phone, email, or through social media. Face to face conversations are non-existent. We are afraid and rightfully so of contracting a disease that may harm or kill us, so we do what we believe necessary to protect ourselves.
This health challenge has put our stock market in a free fall and continues to threaten our livelihoods. We simply don’t know when there will be financial recovery, so we hoard what we can. At the same time, the federal government tries to figure out how to pass an economic package to get us through this time of financial uncertainty. As businesses struggle, people must begin to figure out if they can or should pay their bills since they have no way of knowing when they might get their next paycheck. If they do have a paycheck, the loss in the stock market may have been so significant that, for some, the bounceback will take too long for comfort. Our governmental representatives are fighting for the future of our country or their political careers. Trying to figure out who needs support and who deserves support is a daily task, and even as people are dying, they are not able to come to a quick solution.
Personal and business relationships have become strained. Families are separated canceling flights that would have brought them together for special occasions. The social scene is non-existent, and as people stay in their confined space, they revert to the computer and television for updates and solace. The lack of human touch and direct communication is taking its toll on the most vulnerable populations as loneliness sets in, and lack of hope prevails.
These changes have presented so many challenges at once that it is hard to imagine when we will get back to any sense of normalcy. What will that new normal look like? Those who have been fighting for their life from other chronic diseases can relate. We must recognize that any situation dealing with our health has the power to change who we are and our entire nation. Our health is the driver of our sense of safety and security. As an advocate for health care and resources, we must be diligent that the health of our people is a priority. That includes preventative health to ensure that whatever we need to provide, so people do not become sick, is critical. It also means being prepared to take care of people no matter where they are physically or financially.
So as we move forward, and we will, we should focus on the messages that our representatives are sharing regarding their position of preventative health, medical research, and health insurance. Our health as a nation affects our social and economic well being. That should be very clear now more than ever!