“So, Mr. Trump, I am begging you to take charge
and save lives. After all, that is one of the founding principles of the United
States of North America. If not, the world will see how we are treated not as
second-class citizens but as animals that can be disposed of. Enough is
enough.”
Those words could be from the parent of a child
with substance use disorder in Manchester, New Hampshire; Louisville, Kentucky;
Akron, Ohio; or so many other places in our country where millions need
government action. The pockets of
this country where our former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and the commission
headed by Chris Christie have each outlined, redundantly, paths forward in the
fight against the opioid epidemic that takes 144 American lives daily.
Instead they are the words of San Juan’s brave,
heroic, mayor and leader, Carmen Yulin Cruz. Not only has he failed to implement relief in a timely and
effective fashion, our president prefers Twitter to chastise another
politician, a Puerto Rican, a woman who has spoken truth to his power.
Mayor Cruz said, “…when it comes to saving
lives we are all part of one community of shared values.” She was, alas, wrong. Some of our citizens live on
islands. Islands surrounded by
lots and lots of water, or lots and lots of stigma. Islands whose shared values
have not reached the shore of Trumpland.
Is Mr. Trump part of our community of shared
values? Is he preparing even
overdue action for what lies ahead while he plays golf in Bedminster, New
Jersey (a state that lost 1901 lives to opioids last year) today?
What lies ahead for these and other
crises? Fore!
