It seems that pandemics—or at least the threat of them – were few and far between, but now we are not really even out of the Covid pandemic when we now face another one in Monkeypox. John Ehrenreich’s new book, The Making of a Pandemic: Social, Political, and Psychological Perspectives on Covid-19, examines how greed exemplified in our business practices and desire for only comfort led to the tragedy of the past three years.
Tragedy is an apt term of what occurred not only here in America but across the globe. Tragic figures have character flaws that lead to their downfall, whether it is Macbeth’s desire for power or Agamemnon’s desire to defeat Troy. Each of us carries within us a tragic flaw, but when such flaws become paramount in a society, then we destroy each other such as we have done with Covid.
Why did people turn on each other in such fierce anger over a simple act as wearing a face mask or getting vaccinated? We and our children received vaccines as infants to protect ourselves against smallpox, whooping cough, diphtheria, polio. How did we lose our trust in public health officials and government? To prevent the next disaster, we must look deep inside ourselves so that our flaws do not destroy us.
Prayer for the Day
Fearful of plagues, people not only close their doors but their minds,
As we become timid, afraid to address basic truths in our society;
Distrustful of medical knowledge, we choose to walk in the dark
When science and learning provide us paths to the light.
Wake us up, O God, and shake the comfort of our lives,
So we come to understand the need for change in the world.
In the name of the One who opens us to understanding,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
If we want to prevent future pandemics… we must understand not only coronavirus mutations and the mechanism of the human immune response, but the deep sociological, economic, political, cultural, and psychological lessons of Covid 19.
- John Ehrenreich, Professor, SUNY, Old Westbury
I attribute my success to this – I never gave or took an excuse.
- Florence Nightingale, nurse (1820-1910)
Alas for those who are at ease in Zion, and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria
The notables of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel resorts!
Amos 6: 1