Source: medium.com, by Dustin McKissen

I am not a healthcare worker or epidemiologist, nor will I pretend to be.

I am also not a “far-right activist,” as anyone daring to question the wisdom and impact of the shutdowns seems to get labeled. In fact, for the record, I did not vote for Donald Trump in 2016.

I am also not a member of the far-right media. For years I have written for major media outlets like CNN and CNBC, often using those platforms to criticize the Trump administration.

What am I then?

I am a husband, a father to three children, and a small business owner — and, over the last several weeks, I have seen:

• A society willing to make more than half of people ages 18–29 fear homelessness within the next few months.
• The State of Washington release nearly one thousand inmates — and, pending the outcome of another lawsuit, potentially all inmates over the age of 50.
• The destruction of thousands of small businesses.
• Record levels of unemployment.
• The decision made to stop educating our children, under the presumption that all children (and families) have a safe, stable home to go to, when in fact far too many do not.
• Elected officials narrow the question of public health and hospital capacity down to an almost exclusive focus on coronavirus, while critical appointments for other health conditions get postponed indefinitely.
• Public officials encourage neighbors and friends to police one another.
• The complete suppression of any public discussion about the mental health impact of indefinitely cutting people off from their families, friends, and faith communities.
• The spreading of a ceaseless and constant message that everyone you see is a walking biological weapon that could kill you at any moment, and that the only recourse we have is to hide and report anyone we see who isn’t hiding.

At first, we were told this was the cost of “flattening the curve.” But now, as the curve has flattened in many places (including Washington state) we are told this — and so much more — is the cost of feeling safe.

We must do these things so we will be safe from Coronavirus.

But does this brave new world really inspire a feeling of safety?

Does wondering when you will lose your job make you feel safe? Does the thought of a surge of homeless 25-year-olds make you feel safe? Does the thought of releasing all inmates over the age of 50 make you feel safe? Does the thought of a society where your neighbors police you make you feel safe?

There are real monsters behind some doors in our neighborhoods. That reality is part of the human condition. The children and spouses of some of those monsters used school and work as a respite from those monsters. Offices and classrooms are often places where the vulnerable often feel safe. To be perfectly blunt, there is no vaccine that can save you from being quarantined with a monster. There is no hashtag and profile filter reminding all of your social media friends that behind your quarantine door it’s just you, your worst fears, and no constant CNN tracker telling the world how at risk and vulnerable you really are.

But hey, at least you won’t get or give coronavirus, right?

And thankfully, you always have your friends being thoughtful enough to include the #allinthistogether at the end of their Tiger King meme.

Seriously though, do any of us feel any safer?

Some of us do. Those who avoided Covid-19 while still collecting a paycheck might feel safe, all things considered — but they shouldn’t get too comfortable. Our economy is like a burning skyscraper. On the first floor are the employees and families that lost their income right away. Toward the top of the skyscraper are the white-collar professionals, media, and public sector employees who believe we can contain the fire to the first floor — but economic calamities don’t work that way. The fire spreads quickly. When the assembly lines stop rolling, the whole economic ecosystem around that assembly line collapses, and the collapse has ripples.

Lots of ripples — including dramatic increases in adult suicide, youth suicide, and deaths from other diseases.

These lock downs aren’t making most of us feel any safer.

They may not even be an effective way of containing coronavirus — but even if they are, the current approach has been a headlong dive into a world where we may pit the hunger of a homeless 25-year-old against the medical needs of a 65-year-old. That is a world that can become dangerous quickly, especially for the 65-year-old.

Or, in other words, shutdowns are creating a world where no one is safe.

Dustin McKissen is a consultant, author, and columnist for Inc. Magazine and CNBC. He is also a two-time “Top Voice” on Culture and Management for LinkedIn.