Editor’s note: This commentary is by Tomasz Jankowski, who is president and CEO of Northeast Kingdom Human Services.
For over 12 weeks, our country, and for that matter, the world, have been going through very difficult and defining times, testing our individual and collective resolve in more ways than one. Indeed, the commencement of the second decade of the 21st century has not been kind to humanity, as, today, two dovetailing emergencies are confronting us, right in front of our eyes.
Firstly, the coronavirus pandemic continues indiscriminately claiming precious lives across all the age spectra. By the end of May, Covid-19 has already claimed over 100,000 lives and relentlessly continues exploiting considerable vulnerabilities of our health care system and intensifying the socio-economic crisis, in the United States, with no end in sight.
Secondly, the recent national protests and social unrest throughout the country caused by the senseless deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, among others, have further put our society to a test and on a stern notice.
Those challenges, without a doubt, disproportionately and adversely affect communities of color and those of a lower socio-economic status. While the former have resulted from an intentional growth in civilization, the latter has been the result of many decades or centuries of looking the other way. The confluence of many pressure points has finally reached the boiling point, which we should not and must not ignore, or the consequence could indeed, be dire.
As we continue struggling with all these issues confronting our society, such as inequality, incarceration, discrimination, hunger, poverty, education, homelessness, or lack of economic opportunities, we must, more than ever before, exercise compassion, empathy, and civility with each other in order to build culture of shared trust, respect, understanding, and safety. We must seek to listen, to hear, and to understand each other. We must teach and learn at the same time.
The cracks in the societal foundation have been present for many decades, and now this foundation is crumbling down and the voices and actions are growing stronger and louder. To intentionally rebuild this foundation, we ought to tear down the walls of our own biases and invite intellectual curiosity to free flow in our minds. While the emotions run raw and high following the recent deaths, anarchy and destruction are not the answers to solving those existential issues. With that said, we must not allow these crises to pass without positive, tangible results, because for that, a great opportunity for a reform would have been lost, again. We are all in this together, and as such, must act in tandem.
At Northeast Kingdom Human Services, we acknowledge the devastation, pain, anguish, and chaos in the aftermath of what has taken place in many parts of the country. For the past 60 years, our organization has been the agent of health and community healing and we shall continue leading forward in this role. The socio-economic progress and reconciliation are, indeed, possible and shall succeed if all concerned work together to advance this goal. Another opportunity is here, again. Let us not squander it. As for NKHS, “It is all about being human.”
