This Is Not Normal

[@fireyjon]

I really wish more people understood the gravity of what was said in this video. “Progress is not inevitable it is the result of sustained ongoing open ended funding and collaboration”

[@rocketsocks]

The arc of the moral universe doesn't bend on its own, we do it.

[@itsasecret2298]

It applies not only to healthcare, but democracy itself. Democracy has only ever existed in small pockets throughout human history, and even today only a fraction of the 7 billion people alive live in countries with fair, safe, and trustworthy elections. We're going to lose it because the common person either doesn't know how fragile it is, or just doesn't care.

[@Tick421]

@@itsasecret2298 I trust this elections results as much as i trust trump alone in a room with a child

[@ethanmcginnis8768]

Open ended funding

[@fruitpunchsamurai4837]

@@itsasecret2298 We reached 8 billion people a few years ago

[@sageholla]

Counterpoint: the age gap between you and your primary audience is actually quite encouraging! It means that me and my peers have a great adult role model :)

[@ashesrockstotaldrama]

Wholesome comment

[@jakebesaw]

Amen!

[@pantheruler]

I think he meant because of the realization of his own age

[@ThatWouldBeCareless]

​@@pantheruler yeah I think they know that. They're offering a helpful additional perspective. It's wholesome and kind.

[@somewhat-blue]

Genuinely, I’ve been watching this channel since I was 13 (which is now half my life ago) and this has been so true for me. I can’t even imagine how different I’d be without John and Hank.

[@cmm6p]

In the same way that Jimmy Carter said we had to ‘wage peace’ it’s clear we have to wage health too. I am so proud of the ways our community has been waging health, on multiple levels, and in these hard, hard days I am clinging to our efforts with all my might. This is the work in the days head. We hold on to each other and keep doing whatever we can for as long as we can.

[@thereportoftheweek787]

Stop “being proud of your community” for starters. You haven’t actually achieved anything substantial and when you sit here and pick out victories it looks like you don’t really care. Remember; jobs not done.

[@jeffreywarf]

Jimmy Carter oversaw and armed and funded genocide in Indonesia. All presidents are war criminals.

[@mdphybes]

​@@thereportoftheweek787 I'm not sure what community the first commet refers to any more than the non existant progress you choose to not illustrate. I might first suggest participation in a cause, regardless of efficacy, rather than display a negatively critical view of what you can't even describe.

[@thereportoftheweek787]

@@mdphybes theyre acting as though online comments in this community have a real world effects and then patting themselves on the back. If this person were in the medical field they’d have said that.

[@whatisrealknowtheformula6137]

Well-said

[@coela2616]

I am trying to operate under what I'm calling Pascal's Wager of Hope. If things are going to end terribly and I try anyway, I've lost nothing, but if things could end well and I do nothing, I've made a grievous error. All my effort right could be in vain, but it also could not be, and that possibility means I should place my wager on hope.

[@crains8087]

+

[@coralcomet]

Thank you. I will try to live by that maxim as well I think 🙏

[@KitKitsuneVixen]

same i've kind of had a mindset like that for a long time too. like, might as well do even the slightest bit that i can if i can

[@theupwardspiral1580]

This helps me thank you

[@arielle.m-g]

❤ thank you! I needed to hear that!

[@theslinkymaniaa]

County TB nurse here. At the health department, we are terrified. It feels like our world is crumbling around us. We work with and care for a diverse population, including newly-arrived refugees-and we love them. We LOVE our patients. And I feel that it is a shame that most people will not ever have the environment (work) or the tools (an interpreter) to ever really speak with them, or to learn how similar we all are. They love their families, they have suffered traumas, and they have hopes and dreams. My heart and whole body hurts for all of them.

[@michellekaiser-eo6lg]

I'm thinking about you and hoping we can fix this everyday. I'm calling my senators everyday. Everything is terrible, but please know people are listening to you!

[@christinearmington]

Bravo 👏

[@theslinkymaniaa]

@@michellekaiser-eo6lg Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. 🙏🏼

[@jeremiahkivi4256]

I refuse to give ANY of my taxes and money to migrants until AMERICANS are taken care of first.

[@sporthorsegirl]

Did they love Laken Riley too? All of you disgusting hypocrites loving on rapists, murderers, and terroists. Lovely!!

[@JoaoPessoa86]

The sheer complacency I see daily with medical concerns is astounding. Everyone is so removed from past problems they forget just how dangerous and potentially fatal a lot of things are. Pregnancy comes to mind almost instantly as there seems to be this assumption that anyone pregnant will just make it to term.

[@TanninValerian]

I think part of it is also lack of education. Some of the people that do care still just don't know any better.

[@JoaoPessoa86]

@TanninValerian and that's the complacency. It's assumed that something is known naturally so you no longer teach it, then we're all surprised when it's forgotten

[@Emogeta]

And those people that are aware of the complications would still choose to get pregnant.

[@sclair2854]

Tomorrow the heath secretary will be confirmed, a man who is not only a conspiracy theorist about vaccines... But who has already been responsible for a measles outbreak that effected 3% of American Samoa's population.

[@moolandia]

@@Emogeta Get outta here troll

[@juliegolick]

I'm a medieval historian, and one of the facts about medieval history that everyone misinterprets is the "30 year life expectancy." People hear this fact and thing "if someone made it to 40 years old, they were considered super-old!" That is not true. People aged at the same rate as we do. A 40-year-old would not be considered old, they would be considered middle-aged, just like now. Indeed, if you managed to reach 20 years old, you had pretty good odds of reaching 60 or even older. The reason the life expectancy in the middle ages was 30 years was because TONS OF BABIES AND CHILDREN DIED. The idea that nowadays in rich countries a baby's death is considered a rare tragedy instead of a commonplace (albeit tragic) occurrence is nothing short of miraculous.

[@Arlen.Kundert]

...and those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it sadly, it seems that here we are again

[@Arlen.Kundert]

BTW, there's that old saying "history is written by the victors". I wonder if a more correct saying is "Mythology is written by the victors; history is the correction of mythology"

[@kelsey3647]

@@c6q3a24and “average age” is not the same as “average life expectancy” either so maybe take it down a notch before you lecture. This is a community for polite discourse. Contribute nicely or leave.

[@mikearchibald744]

@@kelsey3647 Yeah, rudeness usually accompanies lack of intelligence. Also though, things like the black death and things like dental problems and germs can quickly count you out.

[@grabble7605]

How would children and babies dying equate to a 30-year life expectancy? They weren't dying at 30. I'm confused.

[@LydiaTaylorMusic]

The most encouraging thing for me is seeing other people acknowledge that this is not normal. Thank you.

[@PremiumToad]

I AM A HUMAN STOP QUESTIONING IT

[@catherinebhicks]

@@PremiumToad There is no question in my eyes - of course you are. (big hug)

[@TheYedad]

He's saying that dying from a dissease is normal is not normal to have low mortality

[@c6q3a24]

Maybe you should spend less money on gender studies and more money on real problems... like tuberculosis. Not imaginary problems from stupid Americans with weird fetishes.

[@caelniall5194tage]

In a sane society, we would be scrambling to impeach a president for ordering something like this, as soon as possible. But the media reports on this as if it's a good thing, and people believe it!

[@Azeria]

One thing John doesn’t mention here is that even if the number of children dying each year had stayed the same since 1995, that would’ve been progress because the world population has grown dramatically in the last 30 years. Less than 6 billion people were alive in 1995, more than 8 billion are now. The fact the number went _down_ is all the more impressive.

[@avanmire8706]

+

[@pokelover02]

I was born in 1995. To see progress your whole life and then suddenly see everything going backwards is so jarring it makes me feel hopeless. Thank you for speaking about this!

[@MikeVideos327]

We are a similar age. The older I get and the more I learn about the events of the last 100 years, especially post ww2, everything seemed to really started to decline in the early 90s (or peak, however you want to phrase it) and truly nothing has ever been the same after the great recession. I have seen a STEEP quality of life decrease in most socio economic circles in the past 15 years. Sure, the toys are shiner, but everything is crap amd over priced and everyone is worked to the bone. I dont think this is the end but i dont think weve had a healthy economy for almost 20 years

[@divp-]

@@MikeVideos327 Overdue for a strong, sustained push in the right direction, perhaps?

[@Xandir89]

Oh right we go ​@@divp-

[@Another-Address]

Born a few decades before that...been a roller coaster ride inbetween points of success and faliure. All this will eventually pass, but not without leaving a mark or two should you survive. Seems the higher ups wish to educate the masses from time to time in regards to daily life plus expenses in supply chain management so to speak, which includes our labour astride all that occurs naturally as the earths axis tilts between positions around the sun, thus aiding in all the weather events that cause problems every year. How long all the latest political uncertianty will last I do not know..but seems inbetween through the centuries, there has been sickness which sweeps accross the population thus thinning out our numbers be it natural or otherwise. Not a whole lot we can do other than the basic known precautions and "Hang on." "You may feel old now, but your not old yet." Grandparents liked to remind me of that shortly before passing away, both on my fathers side served overseas during WW2 and after. On the mothers side, they helped keep the nation fed by harvesting grain and raising cattle, plus working whatever job they needed to do outside the farm including hospitals, factories, oilfield, vehicle repair and fabrication shops. Wish I had their health, but guess were not all blessed. Been watching educational videos to do with history, science and such..lots has happened worth a review now that we have the means to do so in our spare time with these devices. But then again, there is plenty of oppertunity to waste time as well and become easily distracted. Feeling the burn and worn out.."too young to retire, too old to hire." Noticable trends in how people are with one another don't help much either... Amplified to an extent with all the social media, but opinions vary. Not a "wise sage" just stating the obvious... Stuff one misses while focoused on earning an income in but one of many career bubbles along the road of life well... Every trade and buisness has their own unique perspective. Can be easy to become ignorant of how it all connects and serves one another interdependantly.. " so above as below" in a manner of speaking. Long drawn out comment reply I know, and will delete it at a later date... All of this has happened before, most certianly will happen again... Be smart with the money and make the most of your life where you can. Having lots of stuff plus property is nice, but it is not everything that truly matters when ones time is drawing to a close.

[@OnlyHuman214]

Born in the early 60’s. Some of our parents made it through WWII, the Korean War and we were drafted into the Vietnam War. Those that stayed in the military, led the country through Desert Storm and eventually Iraq among others. We lived under the threat of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the “No Nukes” era and other global threats. We did air raid drills, tornado drills, nuclear weapon drills - but we never had a lockdown drill under threat of an active shooter. While all of those wars were happening, we fought for women’s rights (to have a checking account, get loans, buy a home, buy a car - yup - women didn’t have those rights back then), voting rights, equal rights, laws to protect indigenous peoples and their lands, abortion rights and much more. We fought to build democracies across the world… the fall of the Berlin Wall, to free Tibet (although that’s ongoing), to help people defect to the US from countries like the USSR which eventually fell from communist oligarch control so that countries like Ukraine, Lithuania, Romania, Poland and others could finally be independent, sovereign democratic/socialist nations. Those that are still here also survived polio, the measles, mumps, chicken pox, the German measles, TB, many strains of flu’s and viruses over our lifetimes and created vaccines or treatments to aid in the eradication of these diseases from most areas of the globe. We survived HIV and have found better and better treatments. What used to be a death sentence in 3-5 years is now a condition that doesn’t have to shorten your lifespan. We’ve raised the average life expectancy by over ten years and found better ways to educate our youth whether K-12, under grad, graduate or post-graduate collegiate education levels. We overpopulated our planet and started to destroy the environment by following the ways of our coal-mining, gas guzzling, fire-place burning parents and grandparents but then raised a generation of free-thinkers to believe in science and work beside us to find solutions to pollution. They, in turn, have raised a generation of critical thinkers who have taken health and science to a whole new level - wind, solar, hydro and electrical power are continually improving… However, in every generation there are those who are raised to keep the status quo - largely out of some sick version of “tradition” - like, “I worked in the mines, my son and grandson will work in the mines too. If it was good enough for me, it’s good enough for them.” OR “I was a stay at home mom with seven kids, my daughter can do the same. It’s a woman’s job.” So many women have stayed in a dead end town believing that it was the best they could do because it’s what they were raised to believe. They want to hold so tight to their kids and not allow them to be influenced from the outside world so that their town can survive - so that there will be someone to take care of them when they’re old. Well, that’s not why you have kids, is it. You have kids to help them grow up to become whatever and whoever they want to be - not your nurse maid when you’re 75! Those are the people in power right now. They want us to need them - to rely on them - to believe that we won’t survive without their knowledge and guidance… and the way things used to be. They talk about going BACK to Christian values, BACK to family values, BACK to when America was great. Well, moving forward and growing is the only way America will survive the challenges of the new world… THIS new world.

[@JulieHerrick]

This morning I heard about a cluster of TB cases in Kansas. There's never a good time to shut down public health communications. Such a scary time.

[@RHCole]

Largest TB outbreak in US History

[@octane4b]

@@DeathmetalPersianwhat are you even talking about? That has nothing to do with shutting down health communications?

[@RealSlowLike]

​@@DeathmetalPersian please explain what communism is

[@starsiegeRoks]

​@@DeathmetalPersian what? Thats not even the conversation, you just threw out buzzwords

[@EaglesQuestions]

​@@octane4b That is either a troll or a bot, spreading misery across the comment section. Look at it; It's using zero effort in thoughtless responses in hopes of making you spend a ton of effort on better-thought-out responses, which it will then not read.

[@ItsNotLookingGood]

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

[@BirdsOnPowerLines]

Tears…

[@SimuLord]

I'm a separatist. I think this country is LONG past the point where any hope of reconciliation is possible. Marjorie Taylor Greene wants a "national divorce"? Well, from where I'm sitting in Seattle, she can have it. Let's make this like Czechoslovakia so it doesn't inevitably turn into Yugoslavia.

[@oliearts8074]

@@SimuLord there are still POC and queer people and women in red states that deserve people fighting for them. Not eveyone in a red state is a morally bankrupt person. Abandoning the people in the most danger isn't as great of a moral highground as you seem to think it is.

[@bobby_greene]

But "business is business and business must grow..."

[@SimuLord]

@@oliearts8074 I never said it was a moral high ground. It's not the people I have beef with, it's their rulers. In that regard, right-wing America lives in the same moral universe as Russia from where I'm sitting. On the bright side, the civilised society I hope to see in the post-American future will have a place for refugees from red states.

[@wuwubean]

2:13 I’m a 20 year old college student who put this video on in the background as I got ready for class, and this made me stop and think. Sometimes it feels like I’ve wasted my life, but the fact I’m alive at all is something to be celebrated, I think.

[@BrofUJu]

Wasted?! I'm 35 and I'm still figuring stuff out. Trust me, you're just getting started. Most adults have no idea what the hell you're doing. You're gonna be okay!

[@LAK_770]

You’re a kid. I don’t mean that condescendingly, like I really want you to recognize and appreciate that. You could have literally stared at a wall for the past 20 years and it wouldn’t make a meaningful overall difference toward whether you wasted your life

[@soulie13]

If it helps, I turned 50 this year, still figuring out what I want to do when I grow up. I once thought since I hadn't created a piece of art I'd be remembered by at age 25, I was wasting my life. Now, I'm just way less....twitchy about it. Because, with a little hindsight, life has been a series of experiences I could have never anticipated or planned for, almost entirely for the good. Best wishes and best of luck on your search and your path. You're gonna do great.

[@onethousandroses]

Being alive is a fact to be celebrated! I have a friend who says that it is a privilege to grow older, and she is exactly correct. Every day we have a chance to learn something new, help someone in need, appreciate the little things--every act of kindness and compassion counts towards the greater good of humanity. Like John said, progress is not guaranteed, which makes it all the more amazing that we have come so far, and so many are alive to see it

[@FieryVigil]

Stan Lee started working on comics in his teens and wasn't really successful until he was almost 40. Samuel L Jackson didn't have his first really major role in film until he was in his 40s. Not everyone is an Isaac Newton or a Justin Bieber where they're already successful or masters of their field while in their teens and early 20s lol Use some of that anxiety to your advantage when you need a push but don't let it get to you with the hustle culture we live in

[@PotatoChicken-gg1ju]

The most encouraging phrase I've clung to recently is, "the horrors persist, but so do I" (I saw it on Tumblr, I think it's either a Star Trek or Doctor Who reference) It's not just that everything in the news is horrible. My grandmother also has dementia and lives in a horrible nursing home hours away from me. I try to remind myself that my existence and my desire to be stubbornly compassionate is still needed by people in my life, so I keep going. I don't dare give up before the horrors do.

[@bens5859]

When the world gets cruel, don't become cruel with it

[@DrStephenJKrune]

lmao would you babies stop watching baby entertainment designed for children

[@burgerman101]

@@DrStephenJKruneWhat’s adult entertainment then? Multi billionaires talking about how woke the world has become and how every complex problem has a quick and simple solution?

[@rouninpanda6318]

Oh woe is me! Notice me senpai, notice me.

[@eritain]

​@@DrStephenJKrune You're asking me to block your comments? ... OK.

[@CNC-Time-Lapse]

My older brother died at 3 days old due to a birth defect attributed to Agent Orange after my dad did a tour in Vietnam and came home to start a family. My brother and sister all have major health issues similar to my older brother, but because of better medical care, we are still kicking and screaming.

[@teresae9249]

I work in biomedical research, and with the freezes on NIH communication, educational fund dispersement, etc, I need some encouraging facts myself. It's a very precarious feeling

[@theianmce]

I work in MetTech too, I design medical devices. I am with you, modern medicine is nothing short of magical, and it took many years of investment into the work of folks like you to get it done. Facts.

[@noellegeorge1108]

With the news breaking this morning of all federal funding being frozen, I'm terrified of the economic fallout in the coming months. Unemployment will sky rocket while no one can access almost any programs that can help them. It's like we're on a roller coaster that only goes down. John and Hank been a beacon of light for me for a decade plus, and their ability to be that for so many people is so inspiring it gives me goose bumps. I recommend John's semi autobiographical work, The Anthropocene Reviewed, for more nuggets of hope. It's really helping me these days.

[@tuxtitan780]

​@@noellegeorge1108 at this point, I have zero hope in stopping it, all I can hope for is that this administration causes so much harm that the public largely as a whole turns against the Republicans, and the DNC allows an actually competent and promising candidate that people like take the reigns for the first time since 2008 and move the country forward

[@Somebodyelse141]

I have a degree in biochemistry, and I was hoping to someday go into a similar field. I've been in absolute shock that this could even happen

[@AustinDBlais]

Just know, the American people hate you for the crimes against humanity you've assisted in. You don't deserve encouragement, you need to be humbled and realize what you've done is wrong. God will forgive you, Jesus Loves You.

[@JulieHerrick]

I'm so mad about this "pause" in funding. And I put pause in quotes because I have very little confidence that it's going to be temporary. These are really scary times. Thank you for reminding me of the big picture of human progress. We got to keep working to make sure it continues.

[@EaglesQuestions]

Remember, too, that America isn't the only country. I know it's rich and powerful, and it affects a lot, but it's not the only one doing science or funding things. I'm making a personal effort to follow uplifting International news; it helps in keeping things in perspective, for me.

[@bobert6259]

Organize. Find a local chapter of a socialist organization

[@revlarmilion9574]

@@DeathmetalPersian Every bit of medicine you enjoy was funded by taxes.

[@sclair2854]

@@DeathmetalPersian You are either a bot or grossly uninformed about how funding for research institutions and universities works.

[@moss2148]

@@DeathmetalPersian So should we also stop giving aid, subsidies and bailouts to farmers? Who receive more in government money/aid than ANY OTHER PROGRAM OR JOB. What? We NEED food? So you're saying babies dying is less important than your mcdonalds french fries? Got it

[@tcpeters]

As I'm watching this, Kansas is experiencing the biggest TB outbreak in modern U.S. history. Not only is funding frozen, but the communication freeze for federal health orgs is keeping people from knowing.

[@Praisethesunson]

On the plus side. The few rural health systems that state had have been almost entirely bought up by venture capital firms. Those VC firms have only closed 40% of those health centers since COVID started. But they made a profit out of each one.

[@erinmac4750]

​@@Praisethesunson I believe you're talking about private equity firms, groups who go in like vampires to suck the functionality of a struggling entity, then break it up to "capitalize" the brick and mortar resources. Rinse, repeat. Venture capital, funds which look for and back what they deem profitable start-ups are still not vindicated. They often pull out of businesses that aren't hugely profitable, or hoover up ones they like to merge with other like businesses to have greater market share, eventually monopoly. Wall Street and tech bros are ruthless. They need to be checked/stopped.

[@NathanaelNerode]

They'd be able to stop that if they bothered to use respirator masks (N95, P100). But the hospitals refuse to do that so they're just spreading TB in the hospitals

[@bb-6359]

I can't help but say... they voted for it, whether intentionally or not

[@OhMyGoshItsALeg]

@@bb-6359 I live in Kansas and I sure didn't vote for it. We can't abandon red states just because their leadership is awful. Think about really how few human beings it is making the selfish, hateful decisions that lead these circumstance. It is such a vanishingly small percentage of the country causing this, lying to people, cutting off funding, fueling hate, all of it. So few people, each of them mortal.

[@RCassidy45]

4:51 the masterful adaptation of MLK's "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" gives this moment a pointed framing. Thank you John.

[@The_king567]

Yea that’s a wrong quote because it’s not true

[@senboy9002]

@@The_king567 Why is it not true? Saying that what he said was an adaptation of that MLK quote is maybe a stretch, but why is the quote itself not true

[@The_king567]

@ yea that quote is dumb and shouldn’t be taken serious

[@marysueechols2845]

​@@The_king567why

[@HYPERBOLISTIC]

@@The_king567how so

[@LimeDude9999]

“All progress is change, not all change is progress” - some smart person

[@RobertMJohnson]

wow. PROFOUND. unbelievable prescience

[@allipaul5316]

I am an international aid worker who implements the projects that are funded through the U.S. funded programmes mentioned in this video (and many others) - the impact of this policy really cannot be overstated. We have had to stop work on ALL U.S. funded projects, from halting drinking water distribution in refugee camps, to stopping agricultural support to small scale farmers, to ending support for women fleeing violence, to closing down primary health clinics in marginalized communities. We also are having to let go of significant numbers of staff, some who have been with us for decades and are dedicated to making their communities and the world a better place. People are suffering from this, people are dying from this. Please, if you have the time, call your elected officials to advocate for a release of life saving funds.

[@shenai2187]

​@@JonBrase No

[@marysueechols2845]

​@@JonBraseproudly ignorant & knee-jerk judgement. How constructive

[@erinmac4750]

​@@JonBrase These are government based, not even necessarily non-profits. Notably, non-profits without the support of wealthy donors lead a precarious existence. Heck, PBS, one of the most effective public-private partnerships has had to have membership drives most of my life because certain people don't understand or appreciate providing educational and cultural media to our public. Please look at the bigger picture, not everything is rosy or as simple as some wealth managers and MBA's would have us think.

[@AugustaRants]

@@JonBrasetell me you’ve never worked in government or with governmental funds without telling me. You have no understanding on what a freezing of funds and an order to halt work means, and it shows. And if you do, and you’re just trolling, then you look ridiculous doing that here.

[@jeffmcdonald101]

Pin the OP comment, somehow without the discourse.

[@racheltobe2358]

“Progress is not guaranteed.” - applies to so many things this administration is impacting.

[@Emogeta]

Pretty sure this administration will improve it. Also, you give too much credit for the average person where they'd spend 10 minutes idling a car engine for a parking spot 10 feet closer. Think of the amount of greenhouse emissions we'd cut if people would walk that extra 10 feet.

[@ScourJful]

​@@EmogetaYeah, or we could punish the largest contributors of pollution being big corporations that are definitely getting deregulated so that our environment can get worse.

[@Cliffork]

@@Emogeta Cars are not the major factor in climate change. The average person has a carbon footprint so small it barely makes a dent if they completely go off the grid. Its massive corporations driving most of the carbon emissions. Als he will not improve TB mortality rates by completely eliminating funding to medical research. The exact opposite in fact. This is not the only example of this administrations backwards thinking where all they see is $$$ go down=good. Money must be spent to progress, as he knows when he signed the 500 billion dollar AI project. Because apparently AI is more important than TB and cancer research, as well as ALL OTHER MEDICAL RESEARCH.

[@kiraember5]

@@Emogeta Your waifu is going to improve it

[@AMcGrath82]

@@Emogeta Not sure what country you're in, but in mine, the administration is crippling progress. There's a funding freeze for grants and research, and we've left the World Health Organization. John says at 3:05 that one of the central reasons we've seen child mortality go down since 1995 is government-funded interventions, including those funded by the U.S. government. That is being impacted, currently. The effects will be felt in deaths.

[@Naiadryade]

These days I'm trying to remember to look for the helpers--and then to join them in helping.

[@EldritchBumblebee]

Same. ❤

[@ZeKiwiOfTheNorth]

+

[@K8tieR6]

+

[@colin-nekritz]

Luigi, he’s a helper. 💯

[@EldritchBumblebee]

Would you look at that, this platform deleted my comment I’ve pinned the link for helping on my 🦋🌃 profile

[@Veroniquekky]

Maybe my perspective is skewed having grown up Mormon in California, raised by very conservative grandparents, and leaving the church at 11 years old, but I feel like in my 22 years of life I have noticed great advances in our society primarily socially and scientifically despite being a slighttttly pessimistic person. What is happening right now terrifies me. Essentially irrelevant, I recently drove through North Carolina, specifically the parts that got hit HARD by Hurricane Helene, and its really disturbing how many churches (just from their signage alone) seem to be capitalizing on people's hurt and vulnerability, sparking fear and mistrust in anyone other than God (and thus church itself). Community is important, but this is just predatory and sad. With so many Americans hurt, it's not too surprising that they are gravitating towards the loudest person who claims they will solve all their problems as well as giving them someone to be angry at. In these moments, as much as I want to absolute hate anyone that voted for Trump, I am trying my best to come at this with kindness and compassion because propaganda is one hell of a drug and I wouldn't be surprised if most of the falling for it right now have been failed by a/the system in one way or another. I told my grandma last night, who is addicted to the right-wing news, it's easy to hate but it is hard to be kind and love. And I've been trying to apply that to myself too because man it is so easy want to absolutely tear someone apart in a comments section for their stances on things but I've realized it probably does not help. For any LGBTQ+ youth, and honestly anyone horrified with what is happening right now, I *HIGHLY* recommend the YT video "Surviving Trump: A guide for Trans and LGBTQ youth." by "Angry Gay Grandpa".

[@Veroniquekky]

Wanted to clarify, when I "With so many Americans hurt", not just talking about Hurricane Helene but just very generally for any significant problem the average American might face, and there's a lot of those ^-^'

[@maiac.6553]

Thank you for speaking up John. As a Hoosier and med student, I’ve been feeling very disheartened this week. It feels like everything I’m working so hard for is being cast aside and no one is listening

[@andromedaspark2241]

You have an opportunity to organize other students, residents, nurses, anyone in public health who sees how this will hurt all of us deeply. Good luck. You aren't alone.

[@piercecosmo]

Call your Senators and member of Congress!

[@K8tieR6]

I cannot get the response "not all of us" out of my head now when people try to tell me that "we'll survive this." Maybe I am too jaded, but the idea that I will still be here at the end of this, and thus I should not be too worried, not too upset, not to vocal in my anger and fear, is cold comfort. Because we will survive this. But not all of us. Not all of us. Not all of us.

[@breadstick4458]

We also shouldn't even have to "survive" our own government's actions.

[@zap2747]

The end of what exactly

[@jacforswear18]

@@zap2747 the end of the massive regression away from a better life for most people.

[@scribblpad]

This administration has already caused so much damage, and there will be more, which is why I have to believe in “not all of us”. People will stay silent, but not all of us. People will remain uncaring, but not all of us. They will make monsters out of people, but not all of us. Most of all, we will grieve and we will _remember,_ because they cannot kill all of us. Not all of us. _Not all of us._

[@cassiopeiasfire6457]

None of us will survive everything, it's a matter of how long and how beautiful the journey. Feels bleak but encouraging to me sometimes. We don't have to beat everything, we won't, and the quality of every moment we do get matters, and we have a lot of agency over that.

[@clellieirwin2155]

I have spent a lot of time with my partner's grandmother this week. She is nearly 100. Many of her early memories revolve around death, as early death was so much more common when she was a child. She often marvels at the technological advances she sees around her. We can do this ❤️

[@Mandy87Marie]

Very good point. If you’re my age ( millennial) and talk to your grandparents, great aunts, etc., almost all of them know someone who contracted polio or died from something that is preventable today.

[@StuntpilootStef]

There's no question that we can, the real question is are we willing to give up a tiny fraction of wealth to make this happen.

[@misspat7555]

I met a lady who recalled two of her infant siblings passing of whooping cough, and another of a heart condition that probably would have been treatable now. I had a great-uncle die of a heart condition, his newborn sister died of same, a great-aunt on the other side pass of diphtheria and her 3 year old sister of typhoid. I have never personally known a person under 18 who stopped living. It’s amazing, really! 😯

[@sunshine3914]

@@misspat7555 I’m a boomer who has friends with siblings who are alive today because of Dr. Dentin Cooley & Dr. DeBakey. It was a huge deal, back then. Sadly, many of their family members have forgotten.

[@linnnea8171]

My relative who lived around 1880 had 13 children, 7 of whom died of tuberculosis, most of them in their early twenties. I cannot even imagine that kind of suffering.

[@gimmetreefiddy891]

I got TB during the pandemic. I was in my late twenties at the time. Because the symptoms were similar to COVID, I was kept in quarantine. Doctors refused to even take a look without multiple COVID tests and quarantine. I was misdiagnosed a couple of times. It was around a month until i was correctly diagnosed and given medicine. That one month was terrible. I lost so much muscle mass and I could barely walk. I cannot imagine what people who died from TB felt like. It is a very slow death.

[@meraj205]

Those odds are one of the reasons that people had so many children back then. They knew many would inevitably die young.

[@joylederman4501]

Childhood vaccination has been so successful, modern US citizens have forgotten how dangerous dread diseases of childhood are. Guess we'll be reminded of the danger soon. 😥

[@nancyreid8729]

Yesterday’s news about a huge TB outbreak in Kansas is a stark reminder of what you are talking about.

[@NathanaelNerode]

If they'd worn respirator masks, this would not have happened. N95 or P100. TB is airborne.

[@RomansFiveDotEight]

It is so shocking to look at the progress between 1940-1971; a period of immense technological and social progress brought on by humanities massive, global sense of "Hey, we're all in this together" after the two World Wars. We went from the first person to fly an airplane, to landing on the moon, in 60 years. Then around 1971 we had a bunch of people who said "Wow; that's an immense amount of resources moving around the world; why don't I have more of it?" And we had the systematic dismantling or mismanaging of all of those incredibly systems that were built. Now, wealth inequality is happening as fast as poverty dropped in the preceding decades. And I fear other metrics, including mortality and health, will follow suit soon.

[@PitLord777]

"Bad times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, weak men create bad times." I used to think life and history isn't cyclical, but now I have an open mind.

[@neoqwerty]

@@PitLord777 Ehn. I would argue that it's BAD times that create weak men, and good times that create strong men.

[@NinjaLobsterStudios]

​@@PitLord777 I'd be careful about your chosen aphorism for a number of reasons. Firstly it really glosses over the fact that "good times" and "bad times" were occurring in the same society depending on things like class and race, and secondly it really feeds into stories like "we were once a great people and then a bunch of degenerates destroyed it and now we must take back what is ours" (obvs that's not the only way to interpret the aphorism but I think we should be really skeptical of trying to use selectively chosen bits of history to form a grand narrative, because those narratives often have contemporary political motivations divorced from the evidence). While also a very generic aphorism, I feel more comfortable believing "history doesn't repeat, but it does rhyme." I prefer this because I think we should be using the past to inform the present and avoid the mistakes of the past, but to also warrant caution. Just because bad-thing-happening-now doesn't look exactly like other-bad-thing-that-happened it doesn't mean other-bad-thing-won't-happen-again.

[@razvanradoiu]

@@PitLord777 The world dosen't revolve around men

[@marcomoreno6748]

​@@PitLord777soft, squishy, hot men create rock hard men

[@sclair2854]

Tomorrow RFK will be confirmed, not because of his health expertise but as a political favour to him as a loyalist. When American Samoa began listening to his advice there was a measles outbreak that hit 3% of the population. 3% of the population of the united states would be ten million people.

[@lohphat]

You can’t fix stupid, but Darwin can.

[@neoqwerty]

@@lohphat Can Darwin fix it faster

[@miapita1]

RFK does have experience and they are not doing away with vaccines, they are just looking into the science. Something others have failed to do. They are just giving choice. They are just allowing for our freedom.

[@potatopepperoni]

​@@neoqwerty This is a funny statement, but when you think about it it's super freaking depressing... isn't it a shame that so many people have to die before people actually start worrying, thinking, and doing more about it? (And even then, with the COVID crisis...)

[@steegen101]

I'll keep praying and taking action about it until it happens, or doesn't, because I've seen quotes from Senate Republicans saying there's no way RFK is qualified. Maybe I shouldn't, but I'm holding out hope

[@LettheDataSpeak]

Thank you John. As someone who works on federally funded biomedical research directly geared towards improving human health outcomes, I am so thankful people like you are sharing facts like this.

[@enriquegarciacota3914]

Thanks for your work. Keep it up, you are a very nice person!

[@jeffreycarman2185]

It is sad that the US has to deal with this current leadership, if ever there was a time when a steady hand is needed, it’s now. But instead we get chaos, oligarchy, and a push toward authoritarianism.

[@JustForKickss]

Thank you for voicing this John. These are scary times. I work in environmental health and I'm so concerned about undoing so much progress

[@SabreVellerium]

meanwhile there's fucking 8 billion people in the world, I think were fine.

[@notimportant1060]

@@SabreVellerium We're not fine. People like you think they are the main character and will come out on top, but many people shared your same viewpoint 4 years ago until they were choking on their own mucus due to COVID.

[@loquaciouslizard59]

Often feel the same with social progress, people should not assume that progress made cannot be undone.

[@StuntpilootStef]

People are going to find that out really quickly.

[@marysueechols2845]

​@@StuntpilootStef the families of Josseli Barnica and Navea Crane have entered the chat.

[@thomasel9171]

And much social "progress" isn't progress at all, but regress. If only we could have the wisdom to conserve with the courage to progress.

[@marysueechols2845]

@@thomasel9171 such as?

[@StuntpilootStef]

@ Do you have any examples?

[@NoisyBones]

I work in a museum which has served my community for over fifty years, I learned today that all of our government funding has been cut and we may need to close our research division. We will still speak on global warming and educate our guests on evolution but I worry about how much longer we will be able to keep our doors open if this goes on much longer

[@Darth_Insidious]

Prepare for the new think, where climate change and evolution are hoaxes and any medical issue can be solved with snake oil.

[@chekovcall2286]

There is no money. None. The pentagon has overspent year after year. How much money went overseas? Congress has not published a budget since when? There is no money. Your ox is gored today. Tomorrow it will be someone else's pet project. We should all be terrified. I know I am.

[@XCIX9]

That is absolutely terrifying, I’m so sorry this is all… happening. I’m scared how many initiatives, programs, and projects this freeze will kill. God, the damage is likely unimaginable the longer the freeze is- lost research projects, knowledge, people working in these fields, physical resource and space, etc. I really really hope things will look better soon. Love from Canada, my heart goes out to you

[@Barabel22]

@@dertythegrowerNeither do you, ignorant fool. You’re part of the reason we’re in this situation. You’re a disgrace to humanity. You should care about more than just yourself.

[@c6q3a24]

Find a sponsor. Start a community fundraiser. Ask people to give you money VOLUNTARILY. The American taxpayer is not your piggy bank. They do not owe you a single cent.

[@LucasCarter2]

America is about to learn a very hard lesson into just how much the people in the government who work to prevent illness have been working and what happens when that section of the government is stripped of power and competency.

[@MingusDew_Bebop]

You people are literally insane.

[@anplix]

will they learn though?

[@Darth_Insidious]

​@@anplix I doubt people like MingusDew_Bebop would learn if TB and polio left everyone they knew dead or disabled. They'd probably blame the Democrats for engaging in biological warfare on its own people, or call it a hoax. Whatever Fox wants them to believe.

[@Maelstromme]

⁠@@anplixThe guy above you probably won’t.

[@JonLordsMustache]

​@@MingusDew_Bebop understanding basic medical facts is insane??

[@jordanscott9978]

Dear John, I’m almost 30 now. I grew up watching you and Hank, and I feel somewhat indebted. I grew up gay in the Deep South in a white suprematist fundamentalist baptist group. You and Hank’s videos of positivity and acceptance often showed up on my screen right when I needed them. I got close to despair sometimes but I kept moving forward with the belief that it could get better and that I’d get out. I did get out and I’ve kept pushing forward since then. John I have to say I’m just not seeing it right now. Genuinely, how are you staying positive? I’m a classical musician but in college in picked up a second major in philosophy just because I wanted to learn. I studied some of the political philosophy that followed the rise of fascism in the 20th century and I can’t help but seeing the absolute worst case scenarios that my professors warned about coming to pass. I know you’re an intelligent well read man, you must see it too. I see the odds stacking higher and higher against what is good, noble, and kind. How do you stay oriented when it seems like goodness will fail? So many of my friends and people in my community are falling into despair. I wish I had something to tell them. Thank you again to both you and Hank. I’ve sung with ballets, operas, and symphonies because of you two. I don’t know if I’d have made it out and been dedicated enough to have persisted without the influence of your and Hanks optimism and positivity. So again, thank you. - your friend, Jordan

[@AdrianaReagh-e1i]

What are actionable steps, John? This is a serious question. I led a local resistance meeting last night in Longview Texas and that was the burning question. We are gathering to resist the violence directed at our most vulnerable by this administration. After a week of feeling completely helpless, we're organizing and it's beautiful, it's invigorating. But "what do we do" is the burning question. Our energy is getting frantic. We need somewhere to direct it. Pls tell us what to do to be most effective in the face of this untenable horror. On a lighter note, I'm looking forward to seeing you in Dallas on your book tour! Dftba ❤

[@trevordillon1921]

Perhaps you’re asking in the wrong place? If you’re trying to help the most vulnerable in any way you can, and just aren’t sure how, why not ask them? Let them tell you what you need, and from there it’s just a matter of organizing how you provide it.

[@joryrevealsreality6409]

Focus your efforts on finding who in your community needs immediate assistance. Seniors who need meals, mothers with children who’s wic and snap were taken, and if anyone is at risk of losing housing due to section 8 and hud being paused, use the community to stop their eviction.

[@melodysmash]

Organize your group to go meet with your elected officials. More effective in person + more effective (and likely to get a meeting) in a group. Info brought to you by the most recent Indivisible guide.

[@RobertMJohnson]

who is directing violence of what kind at whom?

[@evanrutledge-sz4yo]

@@AdrianaReagh-e1i Meet with your officials, offer assistance to those around you, especially the poor and minorities.

[@michaele1654]

Wanted to add to the conversation simply by saying that our (likely to be) future HHS Secretary, Robert Kennedy Jr, wrote a book in 2021 in which he claimed that, among other things, HIV does not cause AIDS. Scary. I really, really hope that no policies are made based on this claim. I've been terrified of AIDS since I first learned about it. I am actually greatly inspired by the fact that, within my lifetime, HIV/AIDS has gone from a terminal disease to a chronic disease. I pray that with time, cancer and other terminal diseases go in a similar direction. However, progress is not inevitably. 2500 years ago, Persia was the most progressive country in the world-- they ended slavery and created the first code of human rights. In 2022, a woman named Mahsa Amini was murdered by the Tehran police for the "crime" of wearing a loose Hijab. 1000 years ago, Europe was a backwater full of peasants and lords, while Baghdad was a city innovating in science and mathematics. Now, Iraq is a playground for terrorists. Regression is possible. Progress is far from inevitable. In the 1960s, Beirut was known as "Paris on the Mediterranean" and gay nightclubs openly operated in the Lebanese capitol... As a person from the middle east, I have a healthy fear of backsliding, religious fundamentalism, and the inverse of progress.

[@pohjanvanamo]

Very true point.

[@susanegley4149]

An important perspective, thank you. ❤

[@PitLord777]

RFK gonna say that illnesses are caused by an imbalance of humors next.

[@FutureNow]

evergreen youtube title for at least the next 4 years.

[@Oneoneone111One]

Don’t you think recognizing this as normal if undesirable is a better way to think about the situation if you want to not repeat it again

[@FutureNow]

@@Oneoneone111One guess it depends on your definition of "normal." i don't think it's normal just because it's explainable or possible. recognizing any of this as normal lowers the bar for what "success" looks like to me.

[@SomeoneExchangeable]

Let's hope it is only 4. Progress is not guaranteed...

[@DawnDavidson]

@@Oneoneone111Oneonly if your definition of “normal” includes an “administration” bent on revenge and deliberately dismantling basic care and support for most of the citizens of our country. That is also a human choice. I think the problem may be that you are conflating “normal” with “natural.” John is talking about “natural processes.” Cholera and TB are “natural” if undesirable. You are talking about what is “normal,” which is a statistical concept: what is the thing that is closet to the “norm,” or the most common thing. It should not be common or typical to de-fund human dignity. That IS NOT NORMAL in other countries. It has not been normal here for years. It should not be normal.

[@TorreFernand]

also the last 8

[@Maistra13]

Keep up the good work John. More than ever we need voices like yours

[@xequth]

+

[@gabrielag9846]

I work in a food bank. We rely on federal funding for a lot of what we do, and a whole section of my department is dedicated to helping people apply for food stamps. A lot of us are worried--not only for our own jobs, but for the heartbreak we're about to witness in the community we serve and our partners who rely virtually entirely on the federal funding that's being tossed around like a political football. It's an absolute disgrace.

[@Praisethesunson]

Here's a fun fact. 2:41 in that poverty reduction chart. If you remove China from the tables. You'll see extreme global poverty has increased since 2003.

[@SpaceWizardAzrid]

The US Empire is so afraid of communism that we have to force anyone who cant afford to fight us back to live in abject poverty so us imperials (spoiler alert, actually just the rich mostly) can enjoy the spoils of conquest

[@jmanakajosh9354]

This is why Steven Pinker is Enron of modern liberal politics. 😂 Life expectancy has been falling since Obama...oh no some people want to vote for the OTHER party!? Don't they know they're EVIL 😂 why could they want this...could it be because they're dying🤔

[@degreeskelvin3025]

Crazy...

[@thomasel9171]

@@Praisethesunson sure if you believe the numbers from china, the substantive evidence tells me otherwise.

[@Sammy-t7x]

No for it to increase you'll have to remove India from the stats too.

[@rebeccaadamson5972]

Called my Senator immediately after watching this. Thanks for your continued advocacy!

[@untappedinkwell]

Thank you for doing what you can!

[@Praisethesunson]

I called mine. He never answers unless it's from someone who donated over $10,000.

[@michaelgonda962]

@@Praisethesunson You should think about voting for another candidate next time (either in the primary or in the general election) and getting more people in your circle to do the same.

[@MS-sr6mj]

​@@michaelgonda962Maybe they did?

[@Schmopit]

"Your" senator forgot what you said within 10 minutes of the call ending.

[@dion8895]

Thank you. Too many people are taking the "I don't wanna get political" head-in-the-sand approach right now. More people need to be open about the impact of this "administration". Politics has a way of making you talk about it eventually.

[@bobert6259]

How can people not follow what’s going on right now?! This is literally a rapid descent into fascism!!

[@clarabisson7299]

@@bobert6259 I think there is an effect or phenomena, people only take action when something goes beyond their morals. Reacting to things, living in the past, forgetting there even is a present moment. Then go back to the thing they find comfortable. obviously, please when they react to something get shocked and feel scared that there are horrible things happening, Think in the Present moment about what you can do. Everyone can do something, you exist, by that nature you are changing the world, and yet they are scared to participate in "politics" which of course means of the people. So people are scared to be people, instead, opt out ... i thnk that is partly reason

[@stevencurtis7157]

The normalization of not making things political has been a great disservice to the people. This is political, there's no way to make it not so.

[@dombo813]

Can you blame them? Getting political is a huge drain on mental health.

[@rtd1791]

@@bobert6259Because we don’t know what to do about it but also we have to remain functional. Most do not have the ability to focus on politics as we have to go to work so we can take care of our families. Personally I am doing my best to fight despair so I can actually work. I cannot permit my mental health to deteriorate to the point that I am unable to work. I have both children and parents that I have to provide for. Unfortunately there has been a vacuum in leadership and far too many are ignorant of all the good that governments actually do. Screw ups get far more attention. No one presently is actually telling the masses what to do. Instead it is a lot of ridiculous messaging about staying “vigilant” and “resisting”. What exactly am I supposed to do? Especially while taking care of my family?

[@DLYChicago]

Disease does not discriminate, and does not care about international borders. What goes around comes around. It's not just about the children in poor countries; it's also about us.

[@Praisethesunson]

The diseases that don't acknowledge economic class are the ones that actually get invested in.

[@0h0h0h0]

Disease does discriminate, unfortunately. Poor people, marginalized people, etc. will suffer much more.

[@NathanaelNerode]

Wear a respirator mask (N95, P100). Cleaning the air is how we stop the spread of disease

[@frederickheard2022]

It does care about your zip code and your family income. The “pause” on government funding is going to hurt a lot of poor kids.

[@ariadnameza6594]

The other day I was talking with my family, my aunts specifically, about their childhoods. They were basically left to fend for themselves, there were a lot of SA attempts. They were born in the 70s and seems like this was a common occurrence for girls back then, probably still now. But to me and to my cousins this is shocking, and is a reminder of how much things have changed for our family where our parents and guardians were looking after us so that we didn’t had to worry about our safety. When they talk about it I realize there were a lot of girls and boys that didn’t make it unscathed. It doesn’t surprise me the mortality rate was huge. I like to think the place of kids in the world is changing too. It seems that in my parents generation it was survival of the luckiest and kids were seen as dispensable. Some people as they grow realize that what they lived isn’t normal or good and do something to change it. I like to think this and medicine advances are what has led to progress.

[@wyattarich]

The crazy part is that this was a choice we made as a society, and we chose to revert scientific progress. Once you search Maternal Mortality, your worldview will change forever. Thanks John.

[@silverandexact]

0:40 WE'RE not choosing this (us, the people without significant capital), CORPORATIONS and ULTRA WEALTHY people are. If you're not a shareholder, you have minimal power. This community has proved that we do have power when we're loud in our message together but we're inherently at a disadvantage

[@michaelvickers4437]

TAX THE RICH AND THEIR ASSETS!

[@nessiemour4750]

You may have not, and I may have not, but about approximately half of Americans did when they voted in Trump. This was avoidable, but thanks to them we're all going down with this ship.

[@ckannan90]

I agree in general, but this specific thing has happened because of the result of a democratic vote. “We” DID choose this. And that’s sadder.

[@AD-lh3jk]

To the commenters blaming voters for the current administration, I hear your frustration in their choice, but… I saw statistics comparing the vote count of this election and the last, and it seems to be that Trump’s is static with little to no change while there’s significant drop in the dems’ Meaning, it’s likely that instead of Trump gaining significantly more voters, it’s that the dems bled out voters and lost Which isn’t too surprising considering they had a super late buyer’s remorse from skipping primary with Biden only for him to be outed as unfit in the more pivotal debates (compared to a primary debate) So the dems had to then pivot to the only possible choice who’s allowed access to Biden’s campaign funds, which was Kamala. Yet because of the last minute pivot, loads of her campaign team ended up being continued hires from Biden whose old school choices (from pushing her away from new media spaces, to her position on West Bank conflict, etc.) made her too similar with Biden that people were put off with the idea of business as usual in an era where they want change I’m not saying these are the only or even main factors that got Trump elected. I haven’t even touched on his legal and criminal issues that got brushed aside But I’m just saying we can’t discount all these things and just simply blame voters, when voters are the easier group to exploit even in a democracy Their strength is only in numbers, while the direction of said numbers is hard to ascertain

[@bensemusx]

No we have some blame too. Progressive countries are progressive because they have a progressive society. People are voting in progressive governments that then enact progressive policies.

[@kittytheviking]

I just completed my masters with public health concentration and spent most of my time researching HIV/AIDS in minority populations. This current administration terrifies me for what is to come for them… and really for any are of public health…

[@Emogeta]

Should we teach people not to sleep around? We have the ability to end HIV/AIDS forever in a single or two generations.

[@Keflen]

​@@Emogeta what does this mean. We have pretty much stopped aids, and we're finding better cures every year.

[@ChrisTheWeak]

​@@EmogetaTeaching abstinence is generally an ineffective strategy. It's ironic, but only teaching abstinence is one of the most ineffective methods of decreasing teen pregnancies and STD spreading. What does help is giving as much information on risks and ways to lower risk combined with easy access to contraceptives like condoms to decrease the risk of spreading disease. While technically true that if every human acted in perfect unison that we could eradicate every disease, but we won't be able to get every human to act in perfect unison, and so we have to rely on what works best.

[@kittytheviking]

@no we should teach people to use precautions and protection and get tested frequently.

[@patrickhafliger2849]

@@Emogeta we should also give people who use IV drugs recreationally clean needles. Because not all Hiv infections happens with sex!

[@wattersson]

John I wish your book wasn't so timely and necessary but thank you for being timely and necessary

[@rhodeislandrose]

Thank you for speaking out. It's so painful to think that those in power are being so stubborn and blind. We need people like you!

[@polarbearfelly]

Shame that international aid has now been cut and that child mortality figure will go up again. Thanks Trump!! What a saviour!!!!!

[@erinmac4750]

It has actually been going up in some parts of the US with the fallout from repealing Roe and gun violence. I haven't heard the latest on drugs or untimely death, but I'm guessing those aren't reassuring. That said. We can't give up. This is an especially effective community, so I'm expecting that some are already taking action, and that ideas/actions will be forthcoming. We can't give up, our ancestors didn't. 💜🐈‍⬛✊

[@FeltNokia]

Before watching the video: has there been a sneeze?

[@thegriffinnews]

+ rofl

[@FeltNokia]

After watching the video: thank god no one sneezed, fighting TB is super important and I'm glad we could focus on that instead of the myth of sneezing!

[@Soraviel]

🤧

[@ph4d3rfysh94]

There was not. Now I'm sad

[@jakedixonmusic]

Sneezing isn’t normal

[@maxmurphyxyz]

John, thank you for being the positive male role model I needed. My father drank himself to death when I was a teen. If not for you consistently making videos over the years, I likely would have gravitated toward the lunatics currently fighting against progress. I cannot understate the impact you (and Hank) have had on my life. Thank you. ps: The Anthropocene Reviewed is an amazing book and I give it 6/5 stars 🌟

[@gordonstrong5232]

Well said.

[@gracekirksey546]

hey John! I’ve been watching vlogbrothers since around the age of twelve and am now getting my master of public health in global health. I love seeing how much you care about global health and I think you perfectly captured the paradox of caring: that it is at once heartbreaking and hopeful to know that suffering can and should be prevented.

[@levilukeskytrekker]

+

[@pohjanvanamo]

+

[@gerileemakes]

First, I was crying because I was moved by the progress we've made. Then, it was because of the fear I have for the future under this administration. Also, I'm just a crier but still. I hate that that selfish, untrustworthy man has so much power.

[@tracylee4442]

Hugs. I feel you. And that people are just handing him the keys to the kingdom. But I’m onto Trumps nonsense. I see right through him too

[@cynhanrahan4012]

I too could use some encouragement, but right now all that is ringing like the tooth fairy. Today I read an article about a TB outbreak in Kansas, of all places. Today I saw my therapist and came away feeling worse, which is not common. She assured me I was not alone in feeling scared and hopeless, and having my fight or flight triggered into high speed but without the funds to support either. I did receive The Book of Good Times and will spend some time this evening with the prompts. Right now my favorite page is tear this in to very small pieces. But honestly a nap is in my immediate future. All this is just exhausting.

[@lorenabpv]

maybe I'm jaded (and kinda used to political disasters), but whenever events happen that create shitty conditions and people are like "we're gonna survive this"/"it's just x years", because like, a lot of people will not survive it due to foreseen circumstances. like our election results > denial policies > millions of covid deaths that could have been at least reduced. of course, this is amplified in the US due to the fact that it's always too crazy, but also like, millions of people will die of tb/hiv/malaria and whatnot out of sheer hate. i feel like we (royal we) need to stop being considerate to people who deliberately choose that others die of treatable diseases. whether it's people we know supporting these policies, people on social media, congresspeople, etc. anyway, today i'm grateful for my universal healthcare

[@slyasleep]

We weren‘t done counting the human cost of the first Trump term, not by a long shot, and now he‘s been given carte blanche to wind up (in more ways than one) civilization as a whole.

[@K8tieR6]

+

[@dogdad1997]

You're not wrong, but I really need to believe I might make it to keep up the fight. The hopeful messages aren't meant to induce complacency, they're meant to pull ourselves out of despair

[@billyalarie929]

@@dogdad1997and yet we never DO THAT!!!!!

[@billyalarie929]

We need to be in the streets more. Calling your congressman no longer works. Talking no longer makes ANY DIFFERENCE AT ALL.

[@spidermanandsnape]

This is a very hopeful, determined way to think about all the regressions that are happening now. It's only been a week, and so many helpful, crucial programs are being paused or completely erradicated. But reminding us that the arc of history is long and hopefully this will be a blip. It's deadly, slows and stops progress for now, but we will start it again. We will continue to progress and reduce suffering and do good things (this is both a belief and a plea). Thank you for the reminder and hope John

[@MrBrock314]

That's slightly more optimistic than the message was. You made it sound like progress was inevitable in the long-term. That's the opposite of what John said. While health outcomes have improved for 200 years, it can be reversed just as easily as it was improved since it was caused by humans. Repealing those government aid programs will reverse the 200-year trend we've been working on. He's advocating to resume the work to keep the lives saved going in the right direction. If those programs can be funded again, the good trend continues. Otherwise, you'll see an upward turn on all those graphs for as long as the new policies are in place.

[@anathardayaldar]

General public consciousness is also suffering from "worry fatigue". Add to that the algorithms codifying confirmation bias and reinforcing everyone's echo chambers. People now believe that they want to believe.

[@MrBrock314]

While that will buy the propagandists time, if negative trends continue, it will soon be obvious enough to anyone. If we return to the days of 1/20th of a classroom dying of preventable diseases, there will be no way for people not to notice.

[@thomasel9171]

@@anathardayaldar well said.

[@Dan-dy8zp]

I see what you mean, but I don't think everyone does *want* to believe what the internet is telling them, rather many people worry about what the algorithms think will worry us most. :-/

[@249aaa]

thank you for mentioning drug resistance. i’m a biologist & multidrug resistant diseases are a huge concern for the well being of humanity, not just the USA - once those superstrains are unleashed, it’s bedlam while epidemiologists throw metaphorical darts at the board to figure something out.

[@JonBrase]

0:20 Audio says "last year" (2024), but text on screen says 2022 (two years before last year).

[@horse433]

Teary eyed researchers 😢 it’s blurry

[@air1fire]

We all need to use our voices as much as possible to prevent what's happening. To not be afraid of bullies who will try to ruin our lives for opposing their horrible actions. This is the kind of information that needs to spread, that everyone needs to know.

[@RealSlowLike]

Unfortunately, our voices and votes no longer matter this time, there is no one that both cares and has the authority to do something. We are approaching the unknown in america

[@JohnVance]

Voices aren't enough.

[@BL8DM8N]

​@@JohnVance 2A

[@20quid]

Need to take this message to the EU. Since the US government recently made the choice to abdicate its position as the leader of the free world, that mantle now falls to Europe.

[@davidletarte214]

nah we handed it over to china that's all

[@StuntpilootStef]

The EU has been pretty hard at work since before the first Trump administration to gain more control. We even have our own green new deal to combat climate change. It's easy to break stuff, building is much harder.

[@Simonjose7258]

Try China 🇨🇳

[@sedrosken831]

@@davidletarte214they’re not exactly the poster child for free, are they?

[@barbaraeisenhardt4948]

It said free world...

[@Thetechnicolorchild]

I just sn**zed three times before this video, and the title did jumpscare me a little

[@GDOsmium]

Did it change? What was it before?

[@ameliabrown3987]

Sneezing isn’t normal. I never sneeze 😂😂😂

[@amiccus_]

did you just censor "sneezed"?

[@jacforswear18]

@@amiccus_how dare you say that word here.

[@ImNotHere222]

Not only are we sprinting backwards, but people are cheering as it is happening. They have no idea what's coming, however, because the people cheering as we go speeding to the cliff's edge never had to climb up the cliff in the first place. They have no idea what's on the other side. Most of us who are wise enough to know better had to come climbing over that cliff to get out of suffering and despair. I'm a gay man and recovering addict. I've seen some hardship, but nothing compared to that of others. Some have come all the way from the bottom, escaping unspeakable atrocities in their own home countries and neighborhoods. Some never even made it to the top... and here we are... we're all being pushed right back. Right back over the edge.

[@TheMrAshley2010]

It's videos like this that undermine my previous thinking that 3.84 million Vlogbrothers subscribers 'is a lot of subscribers'. How great would it be to have 10 times that many, or 10s of times as many, for such a video of this!

[@efulmer8675]

My gf worked for USAID and she was just furloughed due to Trump's executive order stopping all work by USAID, PEPFAR and others.

[@desTINY417d]

National and local nonprofits getting hit hard too. Way too close to home hearing this. 😅

[@billyalarie929]

I need to hear his rationale for doing any of this. I bet he’s literally openly talked about it. I’m too disgusted at his voice to look for it, but I bet his reasoning is there, and it’s exactly what we think.

[@SapientRedux]

@@billyalarie929the “pause” is to review policy and halt funding for those that they consider, and I quote from the memo, “woke”

[@brackalack1]

​@@SapientReduxso this is all to browbeat vulnerable people into embracing their manufactured rage about wokeness? Pathetic. They're gonna burn in ...

[@thomasel9171]

​@@SapientReduxseems reasonable to me. Anyone centrist enough to be objective seems that there has indeed been an issue with woke agendas being crammed through where it doesn't belong. Not that trump couldn't handle this better, but these are the times where a heavy hand is required to correct a serious issue, government bloat and funds spent foolishly or embezzled.

[@bonniesmith7277]

The largest recorded outbreak of TB in US history is happening now in Kansas....

[@Mothmyth]

Even when I get sad about the state of the world, I remember just how much intentional good had to be done to get us to this point. We aren’t perfect, but as long as people keep helping one another and fighting to make a better world, we’re going to get there. 🖖

[@ThatRedHead717]

I've been getting really discouraged about the state of... *Gestures broadly* and specifically the way people use wealth and power. It started to feel like everyone who accumulates wealth and power does it for selfish, destructive, or downright hateful reasons. But you and Hank have accumulated wealth and power in order to share it with those in need and make the world a better place. Thank you so much for being a beacon of hope in this depressing world. I think a lot of us really need someone to be. ❤❤❤

[@kittymedusa3618]

John, they don’t care about your facts or compassion. They want people to suffer.

[@kencloud1787]

Thanks for this video, John. It’s interesting how prevalent the ideas of historical determinism and just world fallacy are. History is determined by humans and the world is only as just as we make it. At the same time, I appreciate your emphasis on our agency and power. We have made tremendous progress over the last hundred years in so many ways, and that has been us, too. I’m sad to hear that the aid programs have been frozen, but I hope that we will come to our senses, and I hope this will happen sooner rather than later.

[@MrSilverDude101]

Bro, I called my Reublican senator and told the poor intern about HIV viral loads and the importance of treatment because of this.

[@untappedinkwell]

Thank you for doing what you can!

[@basvriese1934]

4:10 we have halved the amount of people who die of TB, keep in mind in that same period of time we also increased the global population by ~33%, so it's even more impressive. Still it's super frustrating knowing we could've been rid of it if our priorities were better alligned.

[@Sarappreciates]

Thanks for this message of hope in such dark times. Having been raised as an Evangelical Christian, I was taught that the world is wicked and that there's never been a worse time in history than now. But then I grew up and learned there's never been more literacy, more charity, more available healthcare, and less poverty, less hunger, and less disease than ever before. My parents hated when I pointed that out, they'd argue that I'm all wrong, these are the end times, evil is among us, blah, blah, Revelations. They are the Trumpers I know. Preparing for the end of the world is their shtick. To this brand of Trumper, John's message today is that of the "antichrist." This is very real to them no matter how fictional it sounds to me. They don't want to fund healthcare. They want to see more disease and other signs of the apocalypse. People act like I'm making this up, but it's true.

[@AdrianaReagh-e1i]

I grew up in the IBLP cult. You are so on the money. Watching my parents reject my trans sibling in lock step with this administration has been a special kind of torture.

[@pohjanvanamo]

I believe you. I just... have questions. Would be something to see behind the veil of time to see how they ended up to this. I'm not asking you or anyone really. Just a thinking stuff now. Sorry if they hurt you with this. I'm a christian too, Idk what to say to that, but I don't want misery and sickness to anyone. It's hard to... think otherwise. May Christ bless you, and others through you!

[@DruidPC]

Can’t they see that Trump is the best fit for the antichrist?

[@AdrianaReagh-e1i]

@@pohjanvanamo I'm writing parts my story in the book I'm writing. The woman they wanted by Shannon Harris and A well Trained Wife are excellent reads if you'd like a peek behind the curtain. It's a dark and isolating place.

[@razzledazzlecheeseontoast9808]

"After 300,000 years of not being able to get half of people to adulthood, we now know how to get 99% of people there"

[@Karishma_Unspecified]

For the sake of my mental health, I'm doing my best to focus on staying alive and ignoring global politics (I'm not a US citizen, but my country is quite similar to yours). This was not a good thing to wake up to on a bad pain day, when I was already feeling angry and hopeless. I can only imagine how devastated my US brethren feel right now - I give you my prayers and/or good vibes. I wish I could help more, but I got neither money nor attention to spare. I'm off to watch some cat videos. Take care!

[@merrymartin3335]

My husband and I are in our 70s. We have aged 10 years in the last few months. We are so angry and frustrated that a maniac has been enabled into a position of this much power. All the gains made under Biden have been wiped out in a week. The damage this all is doing is intentional. The pain, the deaths, the impoverishment, the terror is all intentional. We have fought against this evil with our votes and petitions and by marching and volunteering our entire adult lives. Please know that some of us saw this happening 45 years ago. But we are worn out.

[@kate_6436]

I hope things get better in your country too

[@batfreeze56]

I think it's perfectly natural to be terrified. That's why we have to stand together against this evil.

[@MingusDew_Bebop]

What the hell are you people talking about. You are literally made out of lies at this point. You have no clue what reality is.

[@MrBrock314]

@@MingusDew_Bebop They're referring to what the video is about - the act by the current US administration of reversing the 200 year trend towards less death.

[@miapita1]

@MingusDew_Bebop Exactly! What are these people talking about? The government doing further research to make sure vaccines are safe? That doesn't seem bad to me...especially since they are all staying our food is poison...oh wait, RFK is going to be looking into that as well...

[@brilobox2]

@@MingusDew_Bebop Supreme irony. Also stop liking your own comments.

[@MultiLeandrini]

This is one of my favorite videos on youtube. Much inaction takes place because of the dogma many people have that "progress" is natural or inevitable. I am well aware this video will not fix this alone, but it is an important alert and a good step in a good direction.

[@christopherb501]

Be sure to bring that up with the *idiots* who could have voted yet didn't.

[@MrBrock314]

@@christopherb501 Rehashing the past won't help now. The goal is to fix the future.

[@mollyzhou411]

As someone who work(ed) every day with USAID, it is surreal and comforting to hear John talk about the very real and heartbreaking impact this administration has already had on the world

[@MingusDew_Bebop]

Wrong

[@Premium_jack]

I graduated in June last year with a BA in history of disease. I sometimes am overwhelmed with the way people just don’t understand how things are able to happen in our world. I am terrified for the future right now. I don’t think people fully understand how much human effort it requires to keep us all healthy. I’m not even an expert in anything genuinely epidemiological, I just know a lot about the way we react to disease but the way we’re backsliding (starting with antivax) is just startling. I can’t even be surprised about the choices this administration has done, as this is what they’ve been telling us since march of 2020.

[@ashafenn]

As a disabled artist in the US, i agree, our choices are what can make people live well or die young. This breaks my heart every day.

[@saltiestsiren]

I had to stop paying much attention to the news for my mental health. I struggle with the same "We could choose to live in a better world," despair. My day-to-day life hasn't changed by consuming 5 minutes of headlines instead of an hour of articles or anguished social media posts, but I do feel more inclined to keep the faith in humanity, and to keep living. I still worry-but would I be a better or more moral person if I was drowning in existential dread? No.

[@MrBrock314]

The Serenity prayer has never been more important. Strength to accept what you can't change, courage to change the things you can and wisdom to know the difference. I don't have any impact on certain policies or rich corporations but I do have the power to speak up for scientific progress.

[@DruidPC]

@@MrBrock314Probably the most important prayer for the human condition.

[@elliot-mh8pw]

A GREAT thing to start doing again (if you've stopped) is wear a mask. This not only protects you from diseases we likely won't have accurate information about anymore, but also protects your disabled and immunocompromised neighbors who will be the ones dying from this. Community is going to be absolutely essential in these times coming

[@chaossmith3864]

A Republican Indiana State Senator wants to make wearing masks at “public assemblies” illegal, with some exceptions. Senate Bill 286, introduced by Sen. Gary Byrne, (R-Byrneville), defines a public assembly as a gathering of at least ten people where the general public is allowed to attend.

[@crazydinosaur8945]

as health and especially climate is often global, i can say that we look on the current affairs in the US with grave concern from the other side of the pond. wish you great luck in fighting the defunding of progress

[@dparker4765]

That shoutout at 0:08 was hilarious, and also more distressing: a lot of the viewers in that demo have been watching your content for half their lives.

[@barakfriedman1262]

I have something controversial to say: You are not an Author. You are not a KZbinr. You are a Hero. It is overwhelming how someone can dedicate their entire lives to just doing Good. Even when it's hard. You are amazing.

[@amy-rosecollins8845]

This is a lovely sentiment, and I totally vibe with your appreciation of the goodness and hope that people like John provide…buuhhhht: I don’t think putting people on the pedestal of “Hero” is super productive for galvanising *everyone* to move toward positive action in general. I don’t think that choosing to be a force for good is hard, it’s just that some people (like John and Hank) have the ability and platform to make greater change than the rest of us. We can all be heroic, even if what we do isn’t as big as setting up charities and getting them funded, it looks more like talking to our neighbours, helping in our communities and voting, or something in between. Yeah, sorry, not trying to come for you, as I think we feel the same appreciation. But just to say, if you feel that appreciation, it’s likely you’re a little heroic too 💕

[@Jornandreja]

@@amy-rosecollins8845 I agree with all of the above. The overuse of the word hero bothers me, too. There are so many people in this world saying and doing wonderful, important work and the use of "hero" makes it seem like there's only a few special people like this in the world. Heroes in fictional stories are the few people in the world that have the power to save us, and that's the wrong approach in our world of reality. We all need to recognize our potential for goodness and intelligence in words and actions, and work together in as many ways as we can. It's the only way out of this, because relying on a few people to fix things is clearly not working for us. Let's all keep talking about what we can do, big and small, collectively. It starts with bettering ourselves, our families, and our communities by working together. And let's ask all those with platform power to constantly highlight all kinds of people, not the same already famous people all the time, who are doing. good work.

[@barakfriedman1262]

@@amy-rosecollins8845 Just to clarify : A Hero is someone who overcomes personal hardships to do good for others. So we are in agreement. Just knowing the things going on in these brothers' lives make all this so much more special

[@MrBrock314]

@@amy-rosecollins8845 I mean, it is helpful for people to have heroes - people they look up to. The important thing is for people to keep in mind that all humans are failures of one kind or another so even heroes aren't heroic all the time.

[@pohjanvanamo]

​@@MrBrock314we are all heroes and we are all failures ♡ Made me laugh 😄 and at least to me it's a comforting idea. In the core reality, I am neither 😉 But at the heat of the moment I am so many things 💚

[@arkturhellsing1484]

I absolutely hate when people say that on a long enough scale justice prevails. All progress only happens through effort, blood, sweat and tears. It can be reversed much easier. So keep working towards that better world.

[@kurtwinchell]

It also assumes the scale doesn't have an end, or a point of no return... the planet, and our time on it, is finite.

[@jlcl96]

John, thank you for your constant attention on things that matter. I’m still taking in histories of how things went wrong, but I am starting to pivot towards histories of resistance and progress as well. If history repeats, or at least rhymes, we know evil can be overcome if we collectively choose it. ❤

[@QaSE218]

I have latent TB. I caught it as a child from a close family friend who would eventually succumb to it, though I did not know it at the time. It was thankfully caught and treated when I came to the US, but I still have to live with the fact that there is a nonzero chance it will still become active. I took solace in the fact that it was treated with the proper care it deserves. Not just TB, but most deadly diseases that people in developed countries take for granted. This admin doesn’t seem to understand the reach this country has in even the most niche categories and we will all suffer for it

[@AtentieCadMere]

If someone is on a war path and sees that stopping funding medication will save money and fight by taking life in his place for free, if he gets ahead by that, I see no possible way of convincing him to contribute to the wellbeing of another nation that might make his nation less strong. He will not participate in what he believes is building another strong enemy. There is no upside in that person’s mind. And this is the result. John, thanks for doing this. Stay well.

[@nikkitronic80]

I know it may not seem like it, but we do live in a safer better world then even when I was a kid over four decades ago. And that is because of people like you John and the multitudes who came before wanting a better world for themselves and their children and their children’s children. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you ❤

[@egrytznr8893]

with SNAP, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act in limbo now I think that number is about to start going up again here in the States too, unfortunately 😔

[@15dragonslayer]

None of the good things we have in life are guaranteed. We as a species of have fought hard every step of the way to get to where we are at, and I think it is an unfortunate truth that at least some of us have become very complacent in our progress that they forget what got us here. We are at an unprecedented point in our history, not just as a country but as a planet, one where we must decide the kind of future we want to try to build for those who come after us. This isn't just about you or me, this is about us all, including all the life that resides on this planet with us. Hold onto hope, be confident in the future you want to facilitate, lead by example even if you don't want to be a leader. You force anyone to learn something, you must show them.

[@evenif7431]

Thank you for speaking about this. So few people truly understand the role of public health's constant, *constant* effort, and how crucial that is

[@christopherchild4022]

I cannot think of one thing- not. one. single. thing- positive about the new administration. We are royally and completely screwed.

[@mikeboyd-k8m]

it ends at some point

[@sclair2854]

@@mikeboyd-k8m Does it? Historically speaking this type of party does not let go of power willingly