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We Are Not All In This Together

By April 25, 2020Commentary

One thing I get very weary from is the constant talk about how we are all in this together.  The implication is that we are all suffering equally and all bearing the burden of the extreme shutdowns ordered by the Governor and all being equally protected by his wonderful actions.  First of all, no consideration at all was given to what would happen to people’s jobs and lives.  The Governor had no models run, no analysis done, of how many jobs would be lost, how many lives would be destroyed by the shutdown orders.  People should be judged by what they do, not what they say.  He didn’t give a damn about how many jobs were lost, he didn’t care how many small businesses were gone for good.  He didn’t care about people who aren’t getting health care they need, about increases in drug and alcohol abuse, about increases in suicides, divorces, mental illness, homelessness.  If he did, why didn’t he do analyses of those harms and why don’t we see those results right alongside those models he showed us of all the deaths from coronavirus, models that by way keep getting significantly lowered all the time.  And why in the daily briefings don’t we get those numbers, why don’t we see all those harms that are being done?

So don’t tell me how important it is that we protect every life, when the only lives that seem to count are the ones that might be ended by coronavirus.  And even then, the state can’t seem to do anything to protect the long-term care population.  If we really cared about everyone, and really thought we are all in this together, we would be doing what provided the greatest good for the greatest number of Minnesotans, and that would definitely not be the current course of action.

Join the discussion 2 Comments

  • Malia Hilden says:

    Wow. A cost-benefit analysis that pits life against money, the survival of a human being against the survival of a business. This type of analysis degrades the value of life and praises the value of financial health. This cost-benefit analysis also pits one age group against another and tells us that the value of the lives of our elders is not equal to the value of those who are younger, more able to contribute to the economy all the while failing to recognize that our elders ALREADY made this contribution.
    This is a slippery-slope argument, one we have seen before and it led to the death of millions. Recall NAZI Germany and their valuation of different people’s worth! We start by saying all human life is not equal, some lives are worth more than others. Then we list the categories of lives that are worth less – in this case we begin with the elderly. Who is next? The physically impaired? The mentally impaired? The mentally ill?
    Let the next holocaust begin – driven by – the almighty dollar.

  • Harley says:

    There was nothing in this post, or previous ones, that suggested the lives of elders are not valued. Further, the Governor decided that abortion clinics were an “essential service”, so don’t even start down that road.

    Further, there has been a consistent message on this web site to value and protect the elderly, but not on the backs of 500,000 Minnesotans who lost their jobs and are unable to provide for their families. To not recognize those costs, which are very real, is an incomplete analysis.

    And the rhetoric about Nazi Germany, the physically impaired, and the mentally ill makes the argument even more flawed.

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