We rethink the week with Val Endress, professor of political communications, Rhode Island College; Rick Newman, lobbyist and former NH state representative; and Dean Spiliotis, Civic Scholar and Presidential Scholar at Southern New Hampshire University.
HAS BORIS JOHNSON JUST CHANGED HOW ALL OF US RESPOND TO THE CORONAVIRUS?
We are moved and heartened by British PM Boris Johnson’s public statement thanking the National Health Service (NHS) for saving his life. He recognized how essential it is that Britain has a universal health service, and that its dedicated medical professionals perform such caring and high-quality work. (The British NHS is similar to some of the proposals in the U.S. for universal health care, in that it is available to all people in the country (even non-citizens!. But the British medical professionals are actually employed by the government, unlike American Medicare which simply pays the medical provider for services rendered.)
PM Johnson went beyond praising Britain’s national health care system. He singled out two nurses – both of whom were immigrants! – who had stood at his bedside for 48 hours straight, watching to make sure his oxygen levels stayed high enough to keep him alive, and making whatever interventions his body needed. In Johnson’s appreciative words: “The NHS is the beating heart of this country.”
It is unclear whether Johnson’s humble gratitude – or this COVID-19 pandemic in general – would change American (or international) public opinion about the benefits of enacting a universal health care system – or a government-run health care system (which are not the same thing). Before he himself was stricken with the disease, PM Johnson had previously played down its risk and significance. He had advocated that Great Britain let the virus play its way through the population and let people build up antibodies so their bodies can fight it. But unlike Pres. Trump, Johnson now understands and seems to care about how his people are suffering and the fear that now terrifies them. His speech sounds both compassionate and humble, giving people some inspiration to “hang in there” and get through this national crisis (somewhat like Churchill did in WWII).
WILL TRUMP OR THE U.S. TAKE SUFFICIENT ACTION TO AVOID UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS AS A RESULT OF THIS PANDEMIC?
Pres. Trump’s press conferences”/political campaign events have a negative effect on our country’s success in fighting COVID-19? We agree that, no, Trump’s pressers only confuse people about what are the best actions to take if they want to avoid getting very sick.
What if the president calls people back to work prematurely, before it’s medically safe to start exposing everyone again to large numbers of potentially contagious people? Should doctors and nurses go on strike? They’re already exhausted and they have taken – and continue to take – grave risks to protect public health. If the president does issue a got-back-to work order, it would force our brave medical providers to bear the extra burden of Trump’s dangerous choice.
Striking medical workers is probably not the right response. But perhaps the American people should just ignore the president on this. We can carry out safe habits and rely on medical experts to let us know the true scientific facts.
WILL WE BE ABLE TO HAVE A SAFE AND FAIR ELECTION IN NOVEMBER?
We also discuss the difficulty the U.S. might face trying to hold an election in November. Leaving aside, for a moment, the safety of the voting public (we all saw what happened in Wisconsin last week), what about risking the health of all the staff and volunteers who work the polls during elections? We’re talking about a lot of people: clerks, supervisors of the checklist, security personnel, building maintenance crews – and a whole lot of volunteers. Will they all be willing to risk their own health if the pandemic’s effects and risks have not completely disappeared? Should we even ask them to take that risk? Or should we lower our standards of honesty and reliability and recruit thousands of inexperienced and untested (in both senses of the word) substitutes to take on these important election responsibilities?
Finally, even if we were able to hold a safe and reliable election in November, we worry about what Trump might do if he loses. Can we really feel confident that he won’t refuse to concede power? Would we be surprised if Trump claims that the election was not reliable, tainted by some kind of imaginary fraud? What will we (ordinary Americans) do then?
