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When Billionaires Hold Civilization For Ransom
Fear and loathing in the time of COVID-19.
The United States is in distress, the world order disintegrated, and — of course — people are dying. By the time this hell-storm subsides, hundreds of thousands of people will. It is cruel, unfair, and a tragic atrocity on an incalculable scale.
When I scroll through my Facebook and Instagram timelines, I see people shaming other people for ignoring social distancing protocol. While we should all practice social distancing at this time, the shaming is counterproductive. It sows division. Division is our enemy, and we shall not make enemies of those who share in our struggle for life and livelihood.
What we have, here, now, is a genuine existential crisis. A pandemic, preventable in nearly every way, is unleashing holy hell around the world — all because a virus jumped ship from a bat to a hungry fella in China. It’s damn near the actual butterfly effect, but with a bat, and an animal market.
Do you see how fragile civilization itself is? Perhaps it’s time to ask ourselves what a civilization is, and should be.
Along with — and worse than — several other countries around the world, the United States has resorted to rationing ventilators. We’re valuing life based on perceived ROI, instead of…
