According to Lily: the Flaws Revealed by COVID-19

Lily Ives, Features Editor

So, there’s a global pandemic happening right now.

This isn’t something I need to state; we have all felt some sort of degree of change in our lives as a result of this disease. Some of these changes have come in the form of how work is done, with it mostly being at home, while others are being laid-off in large numbers. This brings me to my point: one thing this pandemic has done is show the arbitrary rules, like the healthcare system and how we treat things like money, that this society is built on and the flaws in how it currently runs.
For example, the concept of tying one’s access to healthcare to their holding of a job is flawed and that is being shown now. Some people are being left basically defenseless in the area of their healthcare because they lost their jobs due to something out of their control. It is not a person’s fault that they lost a job because of a pandemic, and so they shouldn’t be stripped of something that provides so much security, especially when, according to the Hill, the people who are the worst off financially are getting hit with the virus more. 

I would use this as a means of arguing for healthcare for all, because it shows that something like healthcare is simply a human right that shouldn’t be dependent on one’s status as a worker. 

Another big issue arising from this pandemic is people’s ability to pay things like rent. I think that there should be a rent freeze so that those left most vulnerable due to their newfound unemployment aren’t faced with yet another thing that they can’t afford. People should be more concerned about staying safe and keeping themselves and others healthy, not whether or not they will be able to pay their rent. If tenants aren’t having any income coming in, then why are we so stressed that landlords won’t have any income? Rent could simply be deducted so that both tenants and landlords aren’t left to the dust. 

If we are truly to do what needs to be done to combat the pandemic, then people shouldn’t have to worry about the basic necessities of health care and a place to live. These shouldn’t be of concern, at least not right now. As a way of living changes, the way that our society and such should also change. Stay safe and healthy. We can make it through this.