From the blog Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children:
THE PANDEMIC, THE GHOSTS OF WAR, AND A BROTHER LOST
The government stripped people of their ability to be with others. And it’s the camaraderie that helps veterans cope. They are a brotherhood, a sisterhood, a family. Remove the family, and the pieces begin to fall apart. We have seen this time and time again when veterans become isolated, they lose their sense of self-worth. Hopelessness takes over, and the future becomes too dim to grasp. For Rory, it was too much to bear.
Rory took his own life on May 1, 2020.
This is horrible. Rory Hamill was a husband and father of three.
He left a written cry for help.
“I began writing this at 03:46 in the morning, on April 19th, 2020. I’ve been drunk on red wine since the previous night. I haven’t slept. I haven’t stopped suffering. My own personal hell has been reignited, in light of present circumstances affecting us all. This pandemic, although viral in nature; alludes to what happens to us as human beings, when we are stripped of our outlets, and are deprived of our ability to socialize.” Rory
I have written about this before on other posts. For people who suffer from PTSD and depression, a regular routine is critical to maintain normalcy.
I went through a bout of depression in college, due to some life circumstances, and I know from first hand experience how important it was to get out of bed, go to class, and try and live a normal life. If I sat alone in my room I would spiral into worsening anguish.
I can only imagine how someone suffering from PTSD finding themselves trapped at home without their routine and support network could crash and self harm like this.
It makes me wonder with churches and other places of congregation shut down how people who suffer from addiction and depression are coping of they can’t go to AA or other support group meetings. These are not things easily done virtually. People need the human connection of face to face interaction.
This post is not a dunk, it’s not an “I told you so.”
It’s an example of how in our panic to save lives we have harmed others and how it’s easy to forget about the needs of people like Rory Hammill.
Pray for his family and everyone else suffering in these times.
If you know someone suffering like this, reach out to them in any way you can and remind them that they are loved and needed.
This is tragic and awful and didn’t have to happen. And sadly, it won’t be the last time we hear about it.
Keep in mind there are people on the Left who view this as a good thing.
Thoughts and prayers, for Cpl Hamill, his family, and everyone else in his situation. For every Cpl Hamill, there are a thousand more out there that are actively contemplating the same thing. It is tragic during normal times, but doubly so when it should not have gotten this far.
To all the addicts in recovery, stay the course. This is coming to the end, and take advantage of all avenues for support. To the socially isolated, stay strong, and pick up the phone. Call a family member, clergy, or a hotline. To the suicidal, reach out. Please. We are here, and we care.
To everyone else. Remind you city and state administrations that there is more than just this virus out there. Tunnel vision will ruin more lives than the virus can. Do not continue these restrictions. Do not let the cure be worse than the disease.
One theme I’ve seen written many places about the *.gov response to the CV pandemic, is how the *.gov is focused on all the benefits of self-isolation, “social distancing”, and shutting everything down.
The problem is, with benefits, there are costs involved. And those costs are not being considered, or even measured.
We don’t know how many people who need emergent care — for heart attacks, strokes, non-coronavirus illnesses, poisonings, accidents, etc. — are avoiding hospitals and dying in their own homes because they’re too afraid of CV to seek help.
We don’t know how many alcoholics or addicts will over-consume because their support systems have broken down.
We don’t know how many diabetics will lose limbs to amputation because they’re not allowed to go outside or stay active to help keep their circulation going.
We don’t know how many seniors who need hip or knee replacements to stay active will suffer for having to remain sedentary, or how much harder it will be to recover once they are allowed the “non-essential” surgery because of the additional two months (four in Oregon) of inactivity.
We don’t know how many kids are suffering from “Kawasaki disease” (which could be caused by viruses, but also by overexposure to chemical cleaners). We know that New York is seeing a “spike” in cases, but nobody is thinking why that might be or counting how big the “spike” is.
There are countless other examples.
These are some of the real, tangible, human costs of the CV response. We don’t know what these costs are because they aren’t being measured. The *.gov is so preoccupied with “contact tracing” that they’re not tracing the fallout from non-contact.
There are other, intangible costs, too, that we’re all aware of. Loss of freedom, increased government power and surveillance, larger *.gov and NGO budgets (and associated scope creep), higher future taxes to support it all … and of course, the rise of the “Karen culture.”
It’s easy to declare, “If it saves just one life, it’s worth it.” And in many ways I agree: human life is priceless. But in addition to life, there is also liberty, and there is also the pursuit of happiness. They are equally priceless, and it truly bothers me how easily and carelessly they are disregarded the second something mildly scary comes along.
I’m not sure we’ll ever fully recover. I sure hope the benefit is worth the costs.
(Footnote: Not to toot my own horn, but this comment contains what I believe are some excellent one-liners. Feel free to re-use them. Especially “Karen culture”. Make that a thing. 😉 )
>>>It’s easy to declare, “If it saves just one life, it’s worth it.” And in many ways I agree: human life is priceless.
Q: But what is a human life?
A: Based upon an average life expectancy of 80 years, 365.25 days / year, 25 hours a days, a human life is 125,280 hours. Or, 125,280 hours / human life.
Time is Priceless
Q: What if the minimum wage was $15 per hour?*
A: 125,280 hours / life x $15 / hour = $ 1,879,200 / life. Or, say $ 2M per life.
Despite the lockdown we may still lose 50,000 lives, but what are the costs?
Say $ 2T spent to support the lockdown, $ 2T / $ 2M / life,
a $ 2T bailout cost 1,000,00 lives.
If it saves just one life, but cost twenty, is it worth it?
*Note this all based upon the assumption that life has some worth.
It is not about the money or time, at least in my opinion.
It is about the less than tangible cost. Let’s stop the spread of COVID-19. Good.
But are you doing so at the expense everything else? Is saving a single life worth destroying the economic livelihood of tens of thousands of families? Is saving the lives of 10,000 worth the economic hardship placed on tens of millions? Is saving Grandma’s life worth the cost of her never seeing her grandchildren again? (I know my Grandma would rather die than miss out on a visit with the grandkids.) Is the saving of lives worth the destruction of months/years of sobriety? Or the numerous suicides? Or even the delayed medical care for chronic diabetics/cancer/etc…?
While the dollars/time are very important factors, there are other less easy to quantify, but significantly more important factors to take into account. Something that is NOT happening with the stay at home orders, and the close your business requirements.
And, I have been reminding my assembly members, State legislature members, and my Representative/Senators of the real costs of these lockdowns regularly. As I recommend everyone else do as well.