As the coronavirus pandemic crisis deepens and enters its third month in the US, it appears that the Federal Government has adopted, at best, a “laissez-faire” approach, in which state governors must scramble for resources and even fight each other for those scarce resources, at the peril of citizens’ lives. In short, no coordinated national effort has been established; no efforts have been made to disburse medical equipment and test kits in a controlled way; and chaos reigns (much as it has since January 2017, when the current occupant of the White House bulldozed into D.C. with his showmanship and oversized ego, demonstrating little regard for the American people, except insofar as they might play toadies to his narcissism or help him get re-elected). The White House has chosen cronyism and “each state for its own,” lives be damned, over compassion and unity - a fact that should surprise no one.
At the same time, I can’t help but think of how President Franklin Roosevelt, who served as America’s thirty-second President, from 1933 until his death in 1945, and brought America out of the Great Depression, would have handled things differently. Much differently. FDR established the New Deal programs through the WPA (Works Public Administration) to help the unemployed get back to work by cleaning up the National Parks and cutting new trails, rebuilding roads, constructing new buildings, painting murals, and generally reviving the economy.
Trump and his cronies? Not even close. He has bungled the crisis by failing to respond intelligently, let alone in a timely way, and then hoping it would all just “go away,” like a bad dream. In doing so, he and his Administration have missed a huge opportunity both to shorten the crisis and reinvigorate the ailing economy. Had they approached this emergency as a true national emergency and enemy, as FDR treated the Depression, they could have:
Put unemployed people back to work in manufacturing masks, gloves, and other critical medical supplies for healthcare workers
Put unemployed people back to work in disbursing those supplies
Put unemployed people back to work in manufacturing test kits
Put unemployed people back to work in disbursing test kits
Put unemployed people back to work in administering tests
Headed a national task force to organize widespread testing and tracing and corresponding policies
Put unemployed people or small companies back to work in developing contact tracing
Put unemployed people back to work in implementing the widespread testing and contact tracing policies
Put unemployed people back to work in building new hospitals and healthcare infrastructure
Put unemployed younger men and women back to work in rebuilding roads, state parks, and National parks, in a modified version of FDR’s CCC (Conservation Civilian Corps)
Put unemployed younger men and women back to work in helping school districts with laptops, WiFi routers, to aid online learning
Put unemployed younger men and women back to work in helping Food Banks distribute food to the needy in their communities
And the list goes on…
Has Trump done an iota of this? Not even close. Well, he signed his name on checks disbursed by the Federal Government to qualifying citizens (including the dead), in hopes that they would thank him with their vote in November. But when it comes to coordinating efforts across the states, or, dare I say, collaborating with the leaders of other countries to help control the spread and implement best practices that have worked in Hong Kong and Taiwan? No. The man’s narcissism has once again become an impediment to aiding his own people.
And isn’t helping people one of the primary jobs of public servants? Most political leaders in true democracies are altruistic to the extent that they hope to change their communities for the better and help improve their citizens’ lives. But in charge of our precious democracy is not a typical altruistic leader of a free and fair democracy. In fact, he is eerily similar to President Buzz Windrip in Sinclair Lewis’ nineteen-thirties novel, It Can’t Happen Here, who is a hair away from fascism - and then insidiously develops a fascist dictatorship under his citizens’ noses, incarcerating journalists and political enemies, curtailing women’s and minorities’ rights, and hiring his own militia.
We can and should learn from history - and what better way than by reviewing and learning from the policies of FDR, one of America’s greatest Presidents? Maybe, just as FDR sparked hope in the desperate people of the thirties following the 1932 election that he won in a landslide from his predecessor, Hoover; our Democratic candidate, Biden, will take on the daunting task of winning the 2020 election and finally transitioning our country from panic, depression and hatred into hope, tolerance, kindness, and unity.