There is so much going on in the news right now, in particular with respect to the federal government, and idiotic things that are happening that feel so backward and that seem to defy all rationality and logic, making it feel like we are living in the darkest timeline.
For someone like me who has lived a relatively privileged life (through the work and strife of my parents and their parents before them), the impacts of some of these actions and threats are minimal. And as has always been the case throughout human history, this makes myself and people with similar privilege susceptible to an attitude apathy towards terrible things happening around the world.
One of things that makes us human though is our ability to not only empathize (which itself is not a uniquely human trait), but to empathize and have compassion for people and things beyond our direct human experience, to anticipate needs and suffering, and to abstract the experiences of others.
However to do any of that we need to open ourselves up to the lived experiences of others. That is why it’s so important for people with privilege and people with power to be cognizant of what is happening in the world and to engage in community outside of their usual spheres.
I have patients who are dependent on SNAP. I have patients who are afraid to come to their clinic appointments because of ICE. I have patients who refuse to get vaccinated because they were told it would make them sick or parents who refuse to vaccinate their children because they were told it would give their child autism. I have patients who are going to lose coverage for life saving medications. I have patients who have uncontrolled chronic illness because they have the competing priority of just trying to stay alive on the streets.
These stories from the clinic and from the hospital and the stories I hear with street medicine and when I’m out in the community are reminders of how much work we have to do.
nANIMOv 