Imagine that we know there is a threat to our health and security that will likely invade our shores at some point. Experts study it, the government runs scenarios and, as recently as last fall, identified how woefully unprepared we are for the invasion and what we must do to prepare. But the federal government does nothing.
In late fall, the administration fires the one person who is based in an area where the threat is likely to emerge to reduce the budget. Our ability to quickly identify an emerging threat is cut off. Nevertheless, our intelligence sources identify this threat and start briefing senior administration officials on it in January. They don't believe it's a real threat, dismiss the warnings, call it a hoax from the other party, and worry about what acting on the warnings will do to the economy and their re-election efforts. The President's chief of staff keeps pressing to take it seriously but the warnings fall on deaf ears and he is fired. It takes n intervention from a news personality to get the president's attention.
The president first says it's no real threat, then says we can stop it at the border, then says we have it contained, then says it will magically disappear. He signals no sense of urgency so the NSA, FBI and military do not see the need to mobilize a strong and coordinated response because there is no sense of urgency from the president. We don't need to implement effective surveillance to detect the threat.
The foreign army invades, largely undetected, and starts moving through Seattle. Warnings to act go unheeded. It spreads through New York, New Orleans and the Bay Area. Citizens begin dying rapidly. Our front line responders go in to fight the threat, but due to the president's dismissal and inaction, they don't have body armor. They're told to use cardboard and the limited supply of body armor will be available to states who haven't criticized the president. Front line responders die in the hundreds because we didn't prepare appropriately for a threat we knew for years might come, and a threat we knew WAS coming for months.
If this were a military battle, this country, especially the conservatives would be up in arms about our lack of preparation. We had rallies with thousands of people and shouts of "Lock her up" over one decision to deny a funding increase that led to the tragic deaths of 5 Americans. What will happen when hundreds of our front-line health care workers die due to similar inaction?
As the mother an advanced practitioner in New York City, the wife of a nurse who cares for patients with brain cancer, the sister, sister-in-law and aunt of many other health care practitioners, I FIND THIS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!!! THIS is why I am so angry with the Trump Administration!
