World Health Day, April 7th
is an annual day for
global health awareness. Originally to honor the creation of the World Health
Organization (WHO). But, the global Covid19
crisis humanity is now experiencing clearly demonstrates the important of health
in every aspect of our lives (mind, body, spirit, community, environment, economy,
democracy, global population…). And now
we all see each day that every human as a vital role to play in keeping each
other healthy, free and prosperous.
Those
who study pandemics joke that there’s always two phases of every
pandemics. First phase “We don’t believe
you”. Second. “Why didn’t you warn us?” Serious questions exist. Here’s quick answers
to some.
Where
did it come from? China. (dah!)
Likely from a ‘wet market’ where exotic
animals and unsanitary conditions are common.
Why now? It was overdue.
Since 1980 multiple uncontested commissions, studies, reports, and credible experts
have repeatedly and consistently warned policy makers (and every President) that
another pandemic was inevitable – as a result of 8 interdependent basic factors.
Travel, poverty, mutations, environmental
factors, intrusive medical procedures, mass production flaws, dysfunctional governments,
wars.
How
will it end? Worse
than it had to – with catastrophic losses in lives and dollars…because of ignored
warnings, poor preparation and flawed personal and government reactions.
What’s
next? More pandemics. Including new and re-emerging infectious disease
if we continue to undervalue prevention and evidence instead of opinions and emotions.
Can
we prevent and better prepare for them? Yes. By advocating
effectively for funding and achieving the SDGs.
MAHB’s promotion of activism
has never been more important. The question
is ‘advocate for what?” And how? The briefest
answer: Advocate for our elected officials
to codify into all human laws “the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God” -- for the
purpose of sustainably maximizing humanities freedoms and security. How? By
sparking the mother of all movements: A Movement
of three movements (peace, environment, social/economic justice) to tap the $32
trillion stashed in offshore accounts.
Others will urge for reducing
population, stopping economic growth, ‘world peace’ through disarmament, or elimination
of fossil fuels. And, other intelligent
people will demand winning elections, campaign finance reform, reducing WMD
proliferation, ending genocide, women’s rights, or preventing future pandemics. But none of these will be accomplished without
understanding the need for a comprehensive holistic approach to addressing each
of these factors (and others not mentioned) together. Siloed solutions don’t
work. If they have before, like the
global eradication of Smallpox, by now it’s clear that they were ultimately unsustainable.
Now, progress on any issue inevitably hurts progress on others. This is due to the zero-sum game each movement (and all the organizations within it) plays for a limited amount of funding, media attention, memberships, and congressional attention. Worse yet, some issues like ‘peace through disarmament’, reducing WMD proliferation, or reforming campaign finance laws, are either impossible or unworthy of resources devoted to them do to the very nature of multiuse technologies.
The first problem. The political
systems we humans have thus far engineered are fundamentally incompatible with the
supreme law of nature. Our current national
and global governance systems are based on the illusionary principle of independence
(a human concept existing nowhere in the known universe). This mental concept leads powerful individuals,
corporations, or governments to use their freedom to take irresponsible actions. Actions that often hurt someone, some nation,
or some aspect of the environment - anywhere in the world. Humans like most animals
do not take kindly to being mistreated. And the environment always gets the last vote.
When human governance systems violate the
fundamental principle of every major religion, the golden rule, things will never
end well. And in most human legal systems,
an individual is better off being wealthy or well connected to power - and guilty
– than being poor or discriminated against by those in power – and innocent.
It’s not state or national sovereignty
that protects human freedom and security.
But laws that are just, protect inalienable human rights, and the environment. When democracies or dictatorships fail to
enforce such laws or hold those responsible who abuse their freedom of action, then
those governance systems lose their primal legitimacy of protecting every individual’s
sovereignty. Only flawed governments
reject the heavenly concept of individual sovereignty – the inalienable right to
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Elections rarely achieve
this ideal for one of two reasons. The majority
gets their way and ignores the minorities.
Or, the majority gets comfortable and complacent and neglects their responsibility
to codify the global golden rule.
On World Health Day (and
every day!) ‘we the people’ must keep the pledge we’ve given hundreds of times
before our flag, of “Liberty and justice for all”. Every
day between elections we can use our fundamental right to petition our government
and insist that our elected officials codify our city, state and national laws
to enforce the laws of nature and nature’s God - in the context of our pledge.
We are now in a war against
the most lethal enemy our species has ever had.
Some pundits and policy makers are finally calling for a ‘Marshall Plan”
to help prevent future pandemics and empower the world to respond faster and
more effectively to those we cannot prevent.
Fine. But, warring between nations, religions, economic systems, political
or economic beliefs are not inevitable. Pathogens are.
But we must understand the real, persistent, and inevitable enemy we really
face. Well over 99.9% of bacteria and
viruses are either beneficial or harmless to our freedom, security and
prosperity.
Our real enemy is our own ignorance,
apathy and indifference to the conditions of others globally who share this miracle
planet with us. And these flaws, empower
the .01 % of the killer pathogens that thrive on our ignorance, apathy and indifference
to each other, and our life supporting environment that we have been gifted by
the laws of nature and nature’s God.
Connect the dots. See the web of life. Advocate for Justice. Or prepare for the catastrophic consequences.
No comments:
Post a Comment