An Open Letter to America's People:

One of the things that I love about science is how nurturing it is. It never judges. It allows for the complete inclusion of all interested parties as well as their ideas, whether good or bad. It even has space for these ideas to be fostered and explored by coming to life in the form of experimentation and hypotheses. When I think about science as it exists in our world, I can't help but feel the overwhelming maternal presence surrounding it. The essence of its being, its soul if you will, Mother Nature herself, and the wisdom she imparts to humans done so through the language of science.

While a tough teacher, she allows the learner (the scientist), to have many attempts at success. With each effort that fails, she imparts a set of wisdom, allowing the learner to understand their error, correct this error, and then try again. She nurtures the human and appreciates the patience required to enable maturity to develop in both the idea and the person. She recognizes the weaknesses of her students, the human tendencies to be stubborn, biased, and impatient. She never exploits these weaknesses, imparts wisdom on the individual, allowing them to understand that these human tendencies can only harm a conclusion, never favor it. She is forgiving; she is kind; she is the mother to the life that allows our human species to survive.

As a physician, I can appreciate both her and the (often thankless) work of scientists. Perhaps this is because, in part, I am a scientist, just as all physicians are. Scientists dedicate their lives to the betterment of humanity, striving to break down barriers so the human species can continue to thrive. They are experts in their fields. They are objective as they should be. They are incredibly dedicated to their craft.

I fear our country's lack of readiness as it pertains to the novel coronavirus and its devastating effects, has come from a premeditated agenda to push manipulated data/research in a fractured, incomplete form to our nation from our nation's political leaders. When the personal truths of authoritative figures stand in complete opposition to objective data, and then these truths promoted over objective ones, considerable risk is put on humanity. The truth is, America has not done a fantastic job at containing this virus. Despite reports from the White House just a couple of days ago, the virus is far from contained. Spreading untruths does nothing more than lead a population of people in the wrong direction, robbing them of all pertinent information, further perpetuating uninformed decision making. As a result, the American people as a whole are now incredibly vulnerable. The unintended consequence which will likely come from this can be both profound and devastating.

This is where democracy can fail. This is where our democracy has failed.

I urge every human to please follow the science. Listen to those on the front lines, the scientists, the physicians, the healthcare workers. Wash your hands. Stay at home as much as possible. The latest Hollywood movie motion picture can wait. Walt Disney World can wait. Concerts, sports events, trips, all can wait. The gym can wait. Employers, please encourage you employees to work from home. Our economy will recover. We can prevail; however, this will only happen if we start listening to the recommendations of those in the middle of this pandemic.

Allow physicians the space to work safely, void of overwhelming conditions by slowing the spread of disease through social distancing. By doing so, you will also be giving scientists the gift of time, time so desperately needed for this virus to be understood in its totality, time desperately needed so a vaccination can be created. Please listen to the recommendations of the CDC and the World Health Organization. Their guidelines are meant to do nothing more than keep our species safe. As humans, irrespective of our ages, the guidelines pertain to all of us, and they only work if we all follow them together. This virus thrives on selfish decision making but if we all put our communities first we can begin to flatten the curve.

Sincerely,

A physician. A mama. A fellow human.