Introducing our new video series: (Ill)Logic: Rethinking the Covid-19 Story.
Few things have illuminated the interconnected nature of our world as acutely as the Covid-19 crisis. The virus has not only triggered an urgent medical crisis, but also exposed larger structural crises related to our public health system, the weakening of the public sphere, and an ongoing vacuum of moral leadership, among other things. Still, while critics have analyzed US leaders’ handling of the crisis, there has been no concerted appraisal of how prevailing political and media narratives have failed to adequately explain the causes and implications of this crisis. In fact, current dominant narratives may instead be serving to minimize the distressing consequences of this crisis, ultimately dehumanizing those who are suffering most.
A new digital series, "(Ill)Logic: Rethinking the Covid-19 story," produced by our Network for Transformative Change program in partnership with filmmaker Serginho Roosblad, seeks to challenge these narratives by exposing how such claims are not only flawed or false, but are also being strategically wielded by political actors to avoid culpability for avoidable suffering. The first episode of this series explores the widely-shared narrative that our elders should be sacrificed for the economy, as exemplified by comments from conservative political leaders suggesting that the economy has more value than the health and safety of vulnerable people. Featuring insights from people tangibly affected by this discourse, elder advocates, and OBI Director john a. powell, this episode makes the case that the way this narrative frames elders is unjust, inhumane, and incomprehensible for a country like the US that has enough resources to care for all of its people.
