"Jumping the Shark"

There’s a practice that my Action Inquiry Group (AIG) does before we start each meeting. Prior to delving into the topic for the day, we do an external and internal temperature check. I find this practice worthwhile in gaging the mood of my colleagues, and it’s something I’ve started doing with my teams before each staff meeting. But on our last AIG Zoom call, the facilitator didn’t do a temperature check – instead, she asked “How’s your heart today?”

It’s a legitimate question. At this point, we are all into 5 or 6 weeks of living in a way that would have been unfathomable just 2 months ago. A global novel coronavirus pandemic has disrupted our lives and livelihoods. As of April 18, 2020, there have been 2,312,050 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the world, with 158,884 deaths; of those cases, the US claims 728,293 confirmed cases and 38,244 deaths. In addition to ravaging the health and safety of millions of individuals, this pandemic has annihilated the global and US economies. The US Department of Labor reported that 22 million Americans (approximately 13.5% of the labor force) applied for unemployment from March 14 to April 16. 

Although the virus is impacting families from all socioeconomic groups, early data indicates that Hispanics and African Americans are accounting for a disproportionately high number of deaths. Once again, health equity issues have revealed an ugly truth – health and safety still aren’t equitable, and vulnerable populations remain at higher risk.

While many scientists and infectious disease specialists have been warning about the possibility of a global pandemic for decades, we were ill-prepared. As an injury prevention and public health professional, I could rant about this for hours because my colleagues and I have spent years trying to make the best use of the woefully inadequate funds dedicated to public health and prevention. A New York Times opinion piece published on April 9, entitled “The U.S. Approach to Public Health: Neglect, Panic, Repeat,” sadly illustrates our failure to prepare. The article cites a 2019 report from the public health nonprofit Trust for America’s Health, which points out that the focus on treatment rather than prevention has resulted in health care spending increasing by 52% in the past decade, while the budgets of local health departments have decreased by as much as 24%. Between 2008 and 2017, nearly 23% of the workforce of local health departments were eliminated. Today, public health claims just 3 cents of every health dollar spent in the country.

So, when I heard the question about where my heart is, my first response was not original, but one that I heard a co-host of the podcast Pantsuit Politics utter on a recent episode – “I’ve jumped the shark.” For those who are too young to remember the 1970s television program “Happy Days” and its lead character, “the Fonz” played by Henry Winkler, just Google the reference. 

For those who don’t want to take the time to do that, here it is in a nutshell – I am past my peak of indignation. I have “jumped the shark” on blaming, idiocy, ignorance, incompetency, and self-serving politicians.

I understand the fear for our health, safety and economy, as well as the frustration of self-isolation, but I have jumped the shark on politicians screaming over the top of each other, which is what I witnessed during a recent meeting to decide whether to require individuals to wear face masks in public. As long as we are pitting the public’s health against the economy, we will never come to a satisfactory resolution for both. I just want everyone to shut up and listen.

I’ve jumped the shark on churches defying stay-at-home guidelines and encouraging their members to attend in-person services arguing that the restrictions are an affront to First Amendment rights of freedom of religion and assembly. I wonder how many of those pastors have even read the Constitution, much less have the capacity to interpret it?

I’ve jumped the shark on the conspiracy theories about Bill Gates starting the coronavirus, so that he can develop a vaccine and make billions of dollars. I’ve jumped the shark on the individuals threatening Dr. Anthony Fauci and calling for him to be fired.  

I’ve jumped the shark on young people who callously flaunted weekends at the beach over safety. 

I’ve jumped the shark on comments such as those made by Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick that he and “lots of grandparents” would rather die than see public health measures damage the US economy. “Let’s be smart about it,” Patrick said on Fox News. “Those of us who are 70 plus, we’ll take care of ourselves.” Let’s be clear about this – there is nothing “smart” about those comments; instead they border on lunacy. 

I’ve jumped the shark on misinformation, and even more so on the lack of critical thinking skills. A recent study conducted by the Reboot Foundation on the public’s knowledge of COVID-19 as well as its social media use found that almost a third of the public believes COVID-19 myths. Furthermore, the more people rely on social media as a source of information, as opposed to credible sources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, the more misinformed they are about the virus. 

I’m just done with it — all of it.

But I’m not done praying – praying for our front-line health care workers and first responders, praying for competent leadership, praying for the health, safety and resiliency of the scientists and public health leaders, and praying for the faith and spiritual leaders who are tasked with leading us out of the darkness of ignorance.  

I will do my best to distance myself from the daily examples of stupidity and will try to focus on the heroic efforts of many to combat the effects of this pandemic. But we shouldn’t have to rely on heroic efforts. We all deserve better. And, I’ll just keep working on making that happen.

 Stay safe and well.