Opening Insights: Do For Your Country
Ask not what your country can do for you;
ask what you can do for your country.
JOHN F. KENNEDY
The United States faces an event of historical proportions with the outbreak of the coronavirus which causes the COVID-19 disease. The widespread quarantining of Americans in their homes has commerce all but frozen to a halt. As commerce is the very foundation of ANY civilization (not just the U.S.) there is a very real existential threat to the health and well being of the U.S. as a nation.
To keep the U.S. running strong the economy must get back into its historically stable top-performing condition. If commerce is allowed to languish for much longer, there will be no economy to resuscitate, it will be too late! The patient will have died. At that point the list of options diminishes dramatically.
Individual state governments across the nation are guiding their populations to remain safe while a solution to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak is achieved. The wiser among state leaders are measuring short-term solutions against the potential long-term effects.
In other words, if the treatment for the ailment ends up killing the patient, then it's not a viable treatment.
Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick has taken a patriotic stance in his announced intent to resuscitate the economy even at the expense of his own life.
Informational Insights: What Matters Most
The following article was published by the Houston Chronicle, a newspaper "committed to covering state, national and international news. " It was written by Jasper Scherer, City Hall reporter for the Houston Chronicle.
After President Trump signaled his intent Monday to soon lift restrictions on public activity in the U.S., Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick said on Fox News he agrees with the president and would be willing to risk his own life to return to normal conditions.
“No one reached out to me and said, as a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance for your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren? And if that’s the exchange, I’m all in,” Patrick said on Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s show.
Patrick continued: “I just think there are lots of grandparents out there in this country like me — I have 6 grandchildren — that, what we all care about, and what we love more than anything are those children. And I want to live smart and see through this but I don’t want the whole country to be sacrificed.”
Patrick, 69, is a Republican and avid supporter of Trump. He had a stent inserted in his chest last August to open an artery that was 90 percent blocked.
Adults who are 65 and older face a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A report by the agency, however, found that young adults also make up a big chunk of U.S. coronavirus hospitalizations.
Public health officials across the country have warned that hospitals are at risk of being overrun without mandatory orders limiting public interactions. On Monday, the chief executive officers of the Texas Medical Center in Houston unanimously called for a shelter-in-place order in Harris County.
During the Fox News appearance, Patrick said the U.S. is experiencing an "economic collapse," and many people have told him that "we can't lose our whole country" over the disease.
"My heart is lifted tonight by what I heard the president say, because we can do more than one thing at a time. We can do two things," Patrick said. "So, my message is that, let's get back to work. Let's get back to living, let's be smart about it, and those of us who are 70-plus, we'll take care of ourselves. But don't sacrifice the country."
Near the end of the interview, Carlson queried, “so you’re basically saying that this disease could take your life, but that’s not the scariest thing to you — there’s something that would be worse than dying.”
Patrick responded: “Yeah, and look, I’m going to do everything I can to live. But if you said, ‘Are you willing to take a chance’ — you know and if I get sick, I’ll go and try to get better. But if I don’t, I don’t.”
This article originally appeared on March 24, 2020 on The HOUSTON CHRONICLE: Dan Patrick says he is willing to risk his own life to allow economy to resume
Possibilities for Consideration: What Would You Do?
This Houston Chronicle article was re-posted on the msn.com media site, presumably due to its controversial nature. There has not been such a divide among Americans since the civil war of the 1860's and many media organizations jump at the opportunity to fan the flames.
To add perspective, toward the end of the msn.com page was a brief poll assessing the American willingness to follow Dan Patrick's example. The response, as of March 24, 2020 at 10:15am PST shows that 76% of those polled (18,279 responses) would put their own well being in front of that of their country.
Do those who would first preserve themselves realize that without the economy, there is no U.S., and without the U.S. there will be no security, no healthcare, no free enterprise and no freedom?
What will you do?
Add Your Insight
Take a moment and examine…
- As you reviewed the material above, what stood out to you?
- What is the potential impact, economically and/or socially?
- What action is needed to stop or support this idea?
- You may want to consider whether you:
- want to be aware of,
- should become supportive of,
- would want to be active in this topic?
I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Being willing is not enough; we must do.
LEONARDO DA VINCI