Weekly Selection of Thought Provoking Articles
Utilizing several personal stories, Hilary Swift and Abby Goodnough detail how the Covid-19 Pandemic has spiked a rise in opioid-related deaths in the United States. As the Covid-19 Pandemic has completely altered American society, over 40 states have experienced increases in opioid-related deaths since the initial stages of the pandemic. Through several personal accounts, this piece articulates how pandemic induced economic precarity and bouts of depression has resulted in several recovering addicts relapsing.
Sticking with the topics of economic distress and the opioid epidemic, this article by Shannon Monnat and David L. Brown places these deteriorating social conditions within the context of the 2016 election. In comparison to Romney in 2012, Trump underperformed nationally but overperformed in the industrial midwest. Specifically the areas throughout the industrial midwest where Trump overperformed are the areas with higher degrees of economic, social, and health distress. Heading into the 2020 election a major question to contemplate is whether this despair demographic will maintain their support for Trump or pivot to Biden.
In this article, the author juxtaposes his experience living in Sri Lanka during their Civil War with current social breakdown in the United States. Through his perspective he details how social breakdown and collapse is not necessarily felt by an individual on an everyday basis. Rather for most people their regular lives will continue with a slight increase in extraordinary events. The vast majority of the population will remain spectators while the unlucky ones become a statistic.
