How exactly is “staying vigilant” going to protect society from the Covid-19 coronavirus?
This is simply another useless platitude pitched by the government and repeated by the media until it becomes part of our vernacular.
It reminds of some others that were equally as ineffective:
“Just Say No” to drugs. This was Nancy Reagan’s campaign to discourage recreational drug use by kids. In the meantime, her husband, Ronald Reagan used his War On Drugs policies to target recreational drug sellers and users thereby ensuring we’d have generations of people imprisoned and their lives ruined. Decades later, our Federal Government changed the laws to allow prescription drug advertising on TV and loosened regulations on pharmaceutical companies laying the stage for the onslaught of prescription opioid addiction that has been in our country now for over 20 years.
If You See Something, Say Something. According to the Department of Homeland Security website, “…as you’re going about your day, if you see something that doesn’t seem quite right, say something. By being alert and reporting suspicious activity to your local law enforcement, you can protect your family, neighbors, and community.”
Yeah, maybe. Although I have been fairly alert and aware of my surroundings for the past 20 years and have yet to spot and report a suspected terrorist. However, paying attention to my surroundings has helped me spot numerous lost dogs, a few elderly women who’d fallen down and an occasional stranded motorist. That’s not a bad thing but it has nothing to do with preventing terrorism.
Now with a worldwide pandemic we’re admonished to “Stay Vigilant”.
Like the other platitudes this does nothing. Our federal government could do things to help like:
- Establish a Universal Basic Income
- Offer affordable health care not tied to employment
- Extend unemployment and increase benefits to a living wage
- Roll out a “New Deal” jobs program to address our unemployment and infrastructure issues
Instead, our elected officials do nothing substantive while we citizens watch as the rich get richer, the poor get poorer and the politicians keep feeding at the trough.
Stay vigilant.