“A chain is only as strong as its weakest link” is an expression that has never been truer when applied to our nation than at this trying time. This pandemic and this administration’s response to it have shone a light to where the chains that bind us together as a nation and a democracy are stressed to the point of breaking. We must examine honestly where our chains are the weakest and how we got to this state before we are able to deal with these weak links and strengthen them as needed to best ensure our nation’s future.
The first issue is our healthcare system. With our for profit, work based system we have put all of our lives at risk. First, the people without access to healthcare, let alone affordable care are now facing medical emergencies made so much more deadly due to the fact they were not able to remain strong because of a lack of basic care. Secondly instead of focusing on the infrastructure needed to best serve the needs of all Americans, we allowed for profit enterprises hijack our medical system and make business and not health a priority. This has led to a weak link in our chain that is directly leading to the loss of life.
Second we have allowed a incredibly narrow self interested financial elite to gain control of the economy which has led to levels of income inequality never seen before in over a century in this nation. Support systems for the unemployed, the ability of workers to demand a fair share of economic reward from income derived from their labor and a tax structure that devalues income from labor as opposed to investment income have weakened greatly the very wide foundation of our consumer based economy. True capitalism, working on a principle of economies of scale work as a trickle up system, thus this fraud of trickle down economics concentrates the benefits in ever smaller groups of people. This has led to a situation in a time of economic upheaval the distress experienced is much greater and wider spread than it naturally would be if not for this exaggerated imbalance of economic control.
The third factor, the one the binds all these issues together and the one that has led us to this point is the functioning of our democracy itself. This pandemic has not only forced us to consider the safe access to the ballot but has highlighted the intentional perversion of our electoral system for the benefit of the GOP primarily. One also must recognize that this perversion has happened only against the background of pathetic voter participation. With barely half of the eligible voters participating in the most critical aspect of democracy we have allowed this hijacking of our government by the most undemocratic factions in American society. This abdication of the responsibility of citizenship and the fact that this has led to voter suppression and electoral manipulation is how the first two issues have become such a detriment to the fair and equitable functioning of our nation.
Until we actively and immediately address the electoral issues we will not be able to deal with the health and income issues. If we do not address these three issues we will be doomed to the vicious cycle that we find ourselves in today. Any political party that honestly wants to position itself as a true champion of all Americans must step up and forcefully and with purpose deal with these issues this upcoming election, not some vague time in the possible future. If no one does, there will be no future for America as we know it
