[C. C. Rider]

Originally Posted by bumpygreens

I think this planet is a death trap. Nobody has ever gotten out of here alive. Most of us today die of diseases that were rare causes of death prior to the 20th century. The only reason we are not panicking over them is that their growth has been slow.

I think most people who are alive today, including myself, haven't had to face any serious calamities. I grew up on stories from my grandparents. All four were born in 1906 and 1907. They lived through the spanish flu epidemic, two world wars and the great depression. They lost friends and relatives to small pox, polio, tuberculosis and measles. Two of them were born here. Two of them immigrated here for the hope of a better life than they had in post-WWI Europe. They lived frugally, loved deeply and gave charitably.

I wonder how our ancestors would react to this. Would they have rushed to put tens of millions of people out of work before knowing how many lives, if any, might be saved? The drastic measures we have taken will flatten the curve, not eliminate it. People will get sick, some will die...over a longer period of time. Hospitals won't be overwhelmed, but millions of families may be thrown into poverty. We will probably never know the number of lives we are saving, but we will be paying the cost of it for generations.

Very well said.