Will a Trump Re-election Spell Four More Years of Covid?

It’s pretty crazy that it took until covid hit to normalize not going out or going to work if you’re feeling unwell. It’s almost as if we finally, as a country, have placed relative importance on health over productivity. But I suppose that’s the debate that’s happening currently.

Those, normally on the right, who don’t believe covid is much of an issue, and have been in a rush for businesses to open back up since the beginning, are worried about the economy faltering due to lack of productivity. It’s legitimate to worry about this. Afterall, many of our livelihoods are at stake. However, I believe that perspective is missing some key details that frame the bigger picture.

The concept of “productivity” is one that’s culturally and socially constructed. The amount of work per day the average individual does to survive varies dramatically from one society to the next. It’s a larger part of our own cultural narrative.

My question is: why can’t we rewrite the narrative? None of it is set in stone, and it is meant to adapt to changing times. And this year most definitely falls into that category. Perhaps this story has worked in certain ways in the past. We can appreciate the positive aspects of the system, while also taking out the parts that are no longer useful or necessary.

I think the reason why it has remained relatively stagnant over the course of time is because major changes in the narrative occur extremely slowly or are sparked by revolutions and social movements.

So back to the debate at hand, why does a global health crisis threaten American livelihoods so dramatically that we have to put our lives in danger everyday to go to work? Why do money and productivity outweigh our very existence?

Why haven’t we, as a country, prepared our health systems adequately for a global crisis? Why do we give workers so few sick days per year – encouraging everyone to work even if they are unwell? Why does one missed paycheck spell poverty for 40% of Americans?

All of this “productivity” bs is really out of the hands of the average American. If we valued health, we would be in a completely different position right now. Ironically enough, it would probably be better for the economy in the long run. We wouldn’t have to indefinitely remain in this weird half open-half closed limbo if we took our health seriously in the beginning.

And what have we learned from this whole mess? Not much, apparently, as a huge portion of the country is still planning on voting for Trump – the man who facilitated this disaster. (But who knows, maybe the polls will surprise us again.)

I genuinely believe that if Trump is reelected, covid is not going to go away anytime soon. He does not give a fuck about us or our health. He is a businessman and his mind has always been, and will continue to be, solely focused on money. Imagine if the next four years of our lives are like this. Why would anything change if we re-elect that man?