The time we are given to reflect is so important in recognizing how corrupt and selfish our system is. I think about the Earth a lot, we had all these climate change movements prior to the pandemic. As people are so self invested they fail to appreciate we needed this time to reflect upon their actions. As they read books, mediate, learn a new skill, or simply even start to take care of themselves it gives the Earth a chance to breathe. The ability to refrain from normal human interactions, has taught me how selfish the world really is. The air is cleaner now that we’ve put a halt on production, water in different parts of the world are now transparent as pollution rates decrease. Yet, we are still throwing our rubber gloves and felt masks on the floor. The same floor that structures us to get up everyday and move forward. It took an invisible murderer for the world to be a little less selfish. The San Diego Union Tribune stated, “even confronting climate change, arguably the most pressing challenge of the next decade, will require a degree of collective action that stands at odds with American individualism” (Aalipour, 2020). After this pandemic I have a feeling people will continue the mindset that they must fend for themselves. They will continue to hoard supplies and feed into the capitalist mindset. 

I reflect upon the idea of how preventable things could have been. The World Economic Forum posted an article that stated, “we have known about the risk of a global pandemic for years: just see Bill Gates declare during a 2015 Ted Talk that ‘If anything kills over 10 million people in the next few decades, it is most likely to be a highly infectious virus… We should be concerned. But in fact we can build a really good response system’” (Crawford,2020). As a result, due to the lack of readiness to the virus we are currently facing a worldwide shut down. Like caged animals we are isolated and stuck with no steady income unless you are of course part of the 1%. As the 99% of the population suffers as they’re not given the same equipment and opportunities as everyone else. As Bill Gates said, we have time to create a foundation to prepare for the expected. I think as a result of this pandemic our governments true colors will start to appear. It’s already been shown that the man in office acts accordingly to better himself. A recent NPR article stated, “In a statement, Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York, the Democrat who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, called Fine’s removal ‘a direct insult to the American taxpayers,’ adding that Trump’s ‘actions are a blatant attempt to degrade the independence of Inspectors General who serve as checks against waste, fraud, and abuse’” (Mak,2020). This quote directly shows how Mr. Trump runs America as he removed one of the most influential people to this pandemic. The head of the Department of Defense, who was given the opportunity to lead the pandemic response. If Trump says we don’t need any more ventilators, the inspector general is supposed to oppose that decision and mention the facts as to why and what we can do to prevent the spread. Instead, Trump believes Mr. Fine was using his power to help impeach and spread negativity about the man in orange. Going forward, our government will become very one sided as long as bigots are in office. 

Another result of this pandemic will be racial exclusion. Racism is already a huge aspect within our society and the current president continues to create a race war. A psychology professor from the University of Maryland Baltimore County stated, “he’s fueling these anti-Chinese sentiments among Americans … not caring that the people who will truly suffer the most are Chinese Americans and other Asian Americans, his citizens whom he’s supposed to protect” (Chiu,2020). I completely agree with this quote, he is a leader of our country but he is dividing us and creating a norm to racially exclude people from society. He is manipulating people into believing that the Chinese are the sole reason that we are going through this. Inevitably allowing society to normalize being xenophobic towards their race. When the lockdown is lifted I have a strong feeling that people will continue to racially profile people. Before the lockdown was put in place I took a trip to Chinatown, to see all of the stores empty as people feared they would contract something. Not only are Asian Americans being targeted so are African Americans. A few days ago local Nigerians had tested positive for the virus in China, citizens took it amongst themselves to track and beat these men. We are already seeing African Americans being kicked out of their homes, losing jobs, and aren’t given the proper treatment because of the racial perspectives people have convinced themselves to believe. It’s a really scary time we live in. Our brothers and sisters already face socioeconomic differences due to the color of their skin. This virus has only made it ‘acceptable’ to create stereotypes without receiving backlash. 

Works Cited: 

Aalipour, Amin. “Commentary: The U.S. Has the Most COVID-19 Cases Worldwide. Why? Because We’re Selfish.” Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Apr. 2020, http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/story/2020-04-06/commentary-the-u-s-has-the-most-covid-19-cases-worldwide-why-because-were-selfish.

Chiu, Allyson. “Trump Has No Qualms about Calling Coronavirus the ‘Chinese Virus.’ That’s a Dangerous Attitude, Experts Say.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 20 Mar. 2020, http://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/03/20/coronavirus-trump-chinese-virus/.

Crawford, Victoria. “How COVID-19 Might Help Us Win the Fight against Climate Change.” World Economic Forum, World Economic Forum , 31 Mar. 2020, http://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/covid-19-climate-change/.Mak, Tim. “In Another Pushback Against Oversight, Trump Removes Pandemic Inspector General.” NPR, NPR, 7 Apr. 2020, http://www.npr.org/2020/04/07/829136780/in-another-pushback-against-oversight-trump-removes-pandemic-inspector-general.