Where to begin?

The twin events of the COVID pandemic and the spark set off by the killing of George Floyd are each enough to register in the arc of history over decades. Instead the nation is coping with two societal shifts counted in weeks and months. Medical and racial earthquakes have shifted our daily lives and hit hard at cities and states. The impact on the national government remains to be seen as designated leaders bunker down and hide behind reinforced White House fencing.

First, about COVID. I’ve been in touch with a good friend who is infected by the virus. He underlines what the health experts are saying. Stay at home and follow the health safety measures of face coverings and hand washing. You do not want to catch this virus. It is not like the flu. It can lead to a fatal respiratory condition. And you may have read that ventilators are not the lifesavers that was originally thought.

Layered on top of these cautions, Imperial County, its cities and chambers of commerce are petitioning the state to issue the county a variance on the number of infected residents California will allow before a county can open. The county’s infection rate of 23 percent (the rate of infected tested persons) is way above the state’s metric of 8 percent. County elected and business representatives argue that the county’s infection rate is adversely affected by its borders with Baja California and Arizona. “The Financial Times” reports that Mexico, Ecuador and Brazil are the three Latin American nations where the government has failed to check COVID often denying its threat. Arizona did not issue a stay-at-home order and many businesses have remained open though individual stores have established sanitary measures.

Imperial County is caught between two presidents, Mexican and American, who have downplayed the virus’ impact and a neighboring governor who has allowed restaurants to remain open.

I do not envy the elected officials who have to appease small business owners while pledging to keep the public safe. There are no easy answers though I am a proponent for maximum federal government aid to assist employees and business owners through the pandemic.

There is a huge activist role for the national government in this debilitating emergency. Time to get out of the bunker and develop sound medical and financial policies. Each of the thoughtful economists I’ve read or seen on the PBS NewsHour emphasize this. And the measures call for the infusion of trillions of dollars into the economy. Congress and the Federal Reserve have worked well. It’s time we saw some leadership from the White House.

While the White House is at it, it might also develop policies that address racial disparities in health, education, income and the administration of justice, particularly local policing practices. Lots of work has been done by former administrations as well as by other levels of government, community non-profits, and foundations over decades. The White House does not need to start from scratch. However, it needs to lead in a smart and healing manner and give voice to the solutions waiting in the wings.

A very bright spot in the news coverage of the past weeks has been seeing and hearing articulate peacemakers from across the United States. Muriel Bowser, mayor of Washington, D.C.; Ernest Finley, police chief, Montgomery, Ala.; and Columbia, S.C., Mayor Stephen Benjamin are leaders who have struggled with issues of race, and they have implemented solutions. The federal government can learn from these local leaders.

Finally, I’d like to recognize the peaceful protest organized by Black Lives Matter at the Imperial County Courthouse in El Centro. My dear wife and I attended the demonstration early. I was happy to see families getting out of cars together and walking to the court house steps. Social media reports of violent disruptors didn’t materialize. It was 103 degrees.

Work for justice at the local level, exercise social distancing, wear face coverings, and wash your hands. Vote!