A Dog With A Bone ??

Yes, I am like a dog with a bone on this topic and will not apologize for still writing about it, despite what the algorithm might do.

Gyms, schools, houses of worships and small businesses were forced to close in many areas, but the liquor stores were allowed to remain open and somehow all we got was staggering learning loss, financial ruin for many, a 29% increase in alcohol related deaths, a relentless addiction crisis, record #mentalhealth decline, cratered trust in governmental institutions and widespread anger, hopelessness and civil disobedience.

Will any lessons be learned?

Will there be any accountability?

Can we move beyond politics to fairly evaluate our disastrous pandemic response to ensure that we have a significantly better one next time?

I have been writing about the mental health pandemic since the first lockdown restrictions were imposed in March 2020 (check my profile for yourself if you don't believe me) and here we sit, 4 years later, and there hasn't been a single Federal policy change or acknowledgement of what went wrong. (Hint: almost every decision was wrong.)

Yes, I am like a dog with a bone on this topic. I see the fallout from these disastrous decisions every day, and I would be shocked if you the reader didn't see them either.

I am not seeking retribution, for that is not my job.

Judgement belongs to Him alone.

I am seeking accountability so that the worst public policy since the Vietnam War does not repeat itself.

As I have quote many times over the past 4 years, Nelson Mandela once famously said, "There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."

Would anyone say that our collective soul looks good on this topic right now?

Do we have the courage to change course for the sake of future generations?