Doomed?

“Are we doomed?” asked Dr. Greg Smith, chair of the History Department at Central Michigan University, following the Critical Engagements keynote address for fall 2018. In the address, Dr. Kyle Harper discussed his book, The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire, in which he examines the catastrophic role that climate change and infectious diseases played in the collapse of Rome’s power.  Dr. Smith’s question is a great one considering our country was in a similar prosperous situation before being hit by COVID-19.  

Overall, our economy was good. Unemployment was the lowest it had been in 50 years, the highest closing record of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, 29,551.42, was set on February 12, 2020, and a lot of my relatives were excited about how well their 401ks were doing.   Because of the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, our economy is now suffering as are our people, even those not infected with the virus. A May 7, 2020 article in MarketWatch exclaims, “Job losses in April likely topped 20 million and the unemployment rate hit a post–World War II high.” Tuesday, a salon owner in Dallas, Texas was ordered to pay a fine of $7,000 for opening her business during the pandemic. She was sentenced to serve one week in jail after refusing to apologize for keeping her salon open. She explained that she could not keep her business closed any longer because her stylists kept calling her telling her they needed to work to pay their mortgages and feed their children.  She said she is also behind on her mortgage. 

Along with the economy, mental health issues are also of great concern. An article in JAMA Psychiatry states that economic stress, social isolation, decreased access to community and religious support, etc. will cause the number of suicides to rise. A May 7, 2020 South Florida SunSentinel opinion titled “Flattening One Curve, While Another – Child and Domestic Abuse – Zooms Higher” written by state senator Lauren Book of Florida expresses her concern that victims of abuse are not being helped because their cases are not being investigated.   Many others have also decried the increase in domestic abuse since the beginning of the Coronavirus lockdowns (e.g. WBUR, Sam Louie, and Samantha Barry). 

As if that was not enough, educational Institutions are also feeling the economic impact of the lockdown due to COVID-19. Dr. Frim Ampaw, a Central Michigan University higher education scholar with an economics background, explained the serious effect of the virus on colleges and universities. Declining enrollments will reduce tuition and fees, state and local appropriations will be lower, grants and contracts will be lower, and she predicts 10% - 20% of higher education institutions will close if the pandemic lasts a year. The effect on K-12 education will be devastating as well.  A recent article from the Brooking Institution illustrates the enormous amount of funding school systems will need to help students “catch up” due to the lack of instruction they are receiving during the lockdown. 

All of these issues are detrimental to our country and to my state of Michigan.  In response to Dr. Smith’s question, I say, “Yes, we are doomed!”  We are doomed unless we start using our heads and think things through.  It is time for our governor, Gretchen Whitmer, to cancel the stay at home order and reopen schools and government.  She needs to allow individuals to make their own decisions about leaving home and opening their businesses.  The people need her support not her tutelage. There can and should be requirements to wear personal protective equipment, to limit the number of people allowed in an area, for social distancing, and for daily cleaning and sanitizing. However, the reopening of our state needs to be a decision made by We the People.