The politicization of a global pandemic in this day and age has further weakened our country.
In comparison, I recently flew Air Canada to Toronto, I had to be vaccinated, show proof and have a negative test 72 hours before my flight. My Canadian friends canceled all family parties in response to government guidelines, which was very upsetting for them, but it’s what you do for the common good, why is this so hard to comprehend?.
Dr. Reich provides us with an observant and insightful account of the effect of individualism on an infectious disease of pandemic proportions. But that same lens of individualism applies to other dimensions of the common good as well: extremes of wealth, inaction in the face of climate change, us-them divisiveness, healing race-based wounds, environmental damage of all kinds, shared truth, a functional government, and the list goes on. Many "goods" are "common". Lessons learned here do apply elsewhere as well. He did write the book: The Common Good.
I feel personally safe. My family members are all vaccinated and either have the booster or are in the process of getting it. But I wear a mask in public spaces for 3 reasons: 1. to protect others from myself because I don't know for sure my status every minute of every day. Why take a chance on making someone sick just because they are too dumb to trust the science? 2. This mask wearing is, like it or not, political symbolism so I wear the mask, and carry one even when not actively wearing it, just to make the point that it is just a minor inconvenience and/or a little uncomfortable sometimes. 3. To hasten the time when we will all be able to put the pandemic behind us or at least reduce the inconvenience of dealing with it. I understand from experts that if everyone WOULD get vaccinated EVERYONE could be a little safer in most social settings although we will forever need to be concerned about those among us who have special risks.
I go back many, many moons when Polio was around. No one questioned getting a polio, measles, mumps or chicken pox vaccine. The large-scale use of the polio vaccine began in February 1954, when it was administered to American schoolchildren. What happened to America the past 67 years? Just curious to know others thoughts.
I'm at a loss for words today because I'm in France and everyone I see here wears a medical mask everywhere. I haven't seen any decorative masks being worn. If the Omicron variant becomes too prevalent, I fear that something might happen and cause me not to be able to return as scheduled on the 31st. That sounds great in theory, but I have to return to get my medications. If it weren't for that, I would be glad to stay and Zoom my classes from Paris! With all the political problems we have been addressing, this Omicron variant adds a scary element to the mix. From what I hear on the street (cafés really), they have the same problem with anti-vaxxers here and there have been many arguments and protests. We are lucky in the USA that we can get vaccines and booster shots for free, which are costly to the French. I have missed out on much of the news, but hope for a safe, uneventful return to the States and that 2022 will be better than this year was. That's the best I can do, is get the word out and HOPE.
Almost HALF of the voting population voted for Trump last year. A good portion of them are anti-vax and can't be reasoned with. I'm done confining what's left of my golden years for their benefit. Vax'ed and boosted here. The best to you all.
America has become too caught up with "what's in it for me" and the vast majority of the people think of themselves first, and not what is the common good for us all. Individualism, and not collectivism, rules the day and that is what makes covid continue to be a problem - especially here where we have the vaccine, but people won't take it.
Perhaps we should amend the 1st amendment to state that the FEDERAL government shall reserve the right to make necessary medical decisions for the people in the event of pandemics or other national medical crises
Or, when the anti-vaccine person goes to the hospital, stick him/her in the emphysema ward. I have heard that some antivaxers declare they have the right to make their own decisions
Yet many of them agree with the anti-abortion laws stripping the women of their freedom to choose. At any rate, freedom of speech seems to be referenced as their basis of logic as well asany Republicans. I got my shots and it had NO effect on my ability to speak. The antivaxers contract COVID-19 and they run to the hospital in a panic. They magically turn from Christian Scientists to some desperate for a cure.
I'm sorry but public health trumps thos selfish freedom of speech claim.
Today's NYT Opinion piece by two physicians says negative incentives work very well - as in Get vaccinated or get fired. They observe that 100% of United Airlines employees got vaccinated.
Eventually, Tucker Carlson will get covid. Maybe that will change things. Meanwhile, we see the deadly effects of mass stupidity continue. It isn't due to a lack of national policy - it's, at least to me, a portion of the population whose anger at the world they live in has become so irrational that they have abandoned all reason. Like a child breaking her toys because they can't have all the ice cream, the Republicans are expressing their frustration over Trump's "stolen election" by refusing to come to the aid of their country.
I’m hoping the Omicron variant will be a less lethal variant and that the vaccinated population will weather through it. For those who can get vaccinated and choose not to, they should not be unconditionally privileged to use our health care system. More legislation should be proposed (and hopefully implemented) like the one in Illinois that put the responsibility of the unvaccinated to pay their own medical bills if they become hospitalized with COVID-19. What is the role of the insurance industry in handling all the financial risk imposed by the anti-vax stance nowadays? They have been too quiet since the pandemic started. What happened to the campaign of promoting personal responsibility, like putting on your seat belt and don’t drink and drive?
Every privilege there comes a responsibility. But we seem to have forgotten that the privilege of individualism comes with the responsibility of social conscience. It is the difference between "Every man for himself" and "We're all in this together."
You make a fundamental and hugely important point, one I haven't heard elsewhere. The implications go well beyond a pandemic. Is the United States any kind of community, or are we just separate little groups at odds with each other? We fall into a trap of defining everything as either self or other, leading to an ever growing category of "other". Is this our country's basic mental health problem? I wish that you, Robert Reich, could have these opinions published in the NYT or Washington Post.
The administration needs to be more forcefully vocal. The message while factual doesn’t catch those who need to hear it. Those people are driven by EMOTION hence the message needs to be emotional in nature. Show imagery of people in ICU’s like the old ‘frying egg’ “This is your brain on drugs” ads which I STILL remember from when I was a kid. That simple emotion stimulating image and messages STILL sticks with me. They need to re-tune their messages.
Yes, we have a responsibility as a society member to protect everyone. But since the unvaxxed aren't doing that (and never will) we still need to fall back on what we can risk as individuals. I'm a senior with an underlying condition (I think): fibromyalgia. And, once again New York is being slammed. So I'm considering "hunkering down" again. I want to live until I'm "older than dirt"!
I recently convinced a friend who wasn't going to get the booster, to get it. In the long run, friendship was more important than what she heard on FoxNews. But that's where my influence stops. I've basically eliminated all the unvaxxed from my circle of friends.
The politicization of a global pandemic in this day and age has further weakened our country.
In comparison, I recently flew Air Canada to Toronto, I had to be vaccinated, show proof and have a negative test 72 hours before my flight. My Canadian friends canceled all family parties in response to government guidelines, which was very upsetting for them, but it’s what you do for the common good, why is this so hard to comprehend?.
“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
(John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961)
Observing pandemic safety protocols is >not< about protecting me from you. It's about protecting us all from >each other.<
Dr. Reich provides us with an observant and insightful account of the effect of individualism on an infectious disease of pandemic proportions. But that same lens of individualism applies to other dimensions of the common good as well: extremes of wealth, inaction in the face of climate change, us-them divisiveness, healing race-based wounds, environmental damage of all kinds, shared truth, a functional government, and the list goes on. Many "goods" are "common". Lessons learned here do apply elsewhere as well. He did write the book: The Common Good.
I feel personally safe. My family members are all vaccinated and either have the booster or are in the process of getting it. But I wear a mask in public spaces for 3 reasons: 1. to protect others from myself because I don't know for sure my status every minute of every day. Why take a chance on making someone sick just because they are too dumb to trust the science? 2. This mask wearing is, like it or not, political symbolism so I wear the mask, and carry one even when not actively wearing it, just to make the point that it is just a minor inconvenience and/or a little uncomfortable sometimes. 3. To hasten the time when we will all be able to put the pandemic behind us or at least reduce the inconvenience of dealing with it. I understand from experts that if everyone WOULD get vaccinated EVERYONE could be a little safer in most social settings although we will forever need to be concerned about those among us who have special risks.
I go back many, many moons when Polio was around. No one questioned getting a polio, measles, mumps or chicken pox vaccine. The large-scale use of the polio vaccine began in February 1954, when it was administered to American schoolchildren. What happened to America the past 67 years? Just curious to know others thoughts.
I'm at a loss for words today because I'm in France and everyone I see here wears a medical mask everywhere. I haven't seen any decorative masks being worn. If the Omicron variant becomes too prevalent, I fear that something might happen and cause me not to be able to return as scheduled on the 31st. That sounds great in theory, but I have to return to get my medications. If it weren't for that, I would be glad to stay and Zoom my classes from Paris! With all the political problems we have been addressing, this Omicron variant adds a scary element to the mix. From what I hear on the street (cafés really), they have the same problem with anti-vaxxers here and there have been many arguments and protests. We are lucky in the USA that we can get vaccines and booster shots for free, which are costly to the French. I have missed out on much of the news, but hope for a safe, uneventful return to the States and that 2022 will be better than this year was. That's the best I can do, is get the word out and HOPE.
Almost HALF of the voting population voted for Trump last year. A good portion of them are anti-vax and can't be reasoned with. I'm done confining what's left of my golden years for their benefit. Vax'ed and boosted here. The best to you all.
America has become too caught up with "what's in it for me" and the vast majority of the people think of themselves first, and not what is the common good for us all. Individualism, and not collectivism, rules the day and that is what makes covid continue to be a problem - especially here where we have the vaccine, but people won't take it.
Perhaps we should amend the 1st amendment to state that the FEDERAL government shall reserve the right to make necessary medical decisions for the people in the event of pandemics or other national medical crises
Or, when the anti-vaccine person goes to the hospital, stick him/her in the emphysema ward. I have heard that some antivaxers declare they have the right to make their own decisions
Yet many of them agree with the anti-abortion laws stripping the women of their freedom to choose. At any rate, freedom of speech seems to be referenced as their basis of logic as well asany Republicans. I got my shots and it had NO effect on my ability to speak. The antivaxers contract COVID-19 and they run to the hospital in a panic. They magically turn from Christian Scientists to some desperate for a cure.
I'm sorry but public health trumps thos selfish freedom of speech claim.
Today's NYT Opinion piece by two physicians says negative incentives work very well - as in Get vaccinated or get fired. They observe that 100% of United Airlines employees got vaccinated.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/21/opinion/vaccine-hesitancy-covid-omicron.html?campaign_id=39&emc=edit_ty_20211221&instance_id=48352&nl=opinion-today®i_id=21979427&segment_id=77554&te=1&user_id=fc5a5feccefed441688c186866dcef86.
Eventually, Tucker Carlson will get covid. Maybe that will change things. Meanwhile, we see the deadly effects of mass stupidity continue. It isn't due to a lack of national policy - it's, at least to me, a portion of the population whose anger at the world they live in has become so irrational that they have abandoned all reason. Like a child breaking her toys because they can't have all the ice cream, the Republicans are expressing their frustration over Trump's "stolen election" by refusing to come to the aid of their country.
I’m hoping the Omicron variant will be a less lethal variant and that the vaccinated population will weather through it. For those who can get vaccinated and choose not to, they should not be unconditionally privileged to use our health care system. More legislation should be proposed (and hopefully implemented) like the one in Illinois that put the responsibility of the unvaccinated to pay their own medical bills if they become hospitalized with COVID-19. What is the role of the insurance industry in handling all the financial risk imposed by the anti-vax stance nowadays? They have been too quiet since the pandemic started. What happened to the campaign of promoting personal responsibility, like putting on your seat belt and don’t drink and drive?
Every privilege there comes a responsibility. But we seem to have forgotten that the privilege of individualism comes with the responsibility of social conscience. It is the difference between "Every man for himself" and "We're all in this together."
You make a fundamental and hugely important point, one I haven't heard elsewhere. The implications go well beyond a pandemic. Is the United States any kind of community, or are we just separate little groups at odds with each other? We fall into a trap of defining everything as either self or other, leading to an ever growing category of "other". Is this our country's basic mental health problem? I wish that you, Robert Reich, could have these opinions published in the NYT or Washington Post.
The administration needs to be more forcefully vocal. The message while factual doesn’t catch those who need to hear it. Those people are driven by EMOTION hence the message needs to be emotional in nature. Show imagery of people in ICU’s like the old ‘frying egg’ “This is your brain on drugs” ads which I STILL remember from when I was a kid. That simple emotion stimulating image and messages STILL sticks with me. They need to re-tune their messages.
Yes, we have a responsibility as a society member to protect everyone. But since the unvaxxed aren't doing that (and never will) we still need to fall back on what we can risk as individuals. I'm a senior with an underlying condition (I think): fibromyalgia. And, once again New York is being slammed. So I'm considering "hunkering down" again. I want to live until I'm "older than dirt"!
I recently convinced a friend who wasn't going to get the booster, to get it. In the long run, friendship was more important than what she heard on FoxNews. But that's where my influence stops. I've basically eliminated all the unvaxxed from my circle of friends.