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America will never get better if we refuse to diagnose and treat its problems | Maeve Higgins
As we endure shooting after shooting, the US starts to seem like a body being attacked from within by some strange and debilitating illness
A nation is a body. For the whole body to function smoothly, each part must do its job. You’ll know from your own body that each part does not need to be perfect to get you through the day. You’ll know that a disabled body can be perfect once you understand what it needs and adjust accordingly. A nation, too, can have some body parts that break down and need help from other, stronger parts. The problems in a body start when some parts break, but instead of compensating for those parts and allowing them time to heal, the rest of the body ignores them.
The body, this nation, insists that it must keep moving. The problems grow as the body becomes more and more stressed. Finally, in the worst cases, the body starts attacking itself. America today is a body being attacked from within; living here feels like living inside a huge autoimmune response. The system we once used to protect ourselves has gone haywire, and now it attacks us.
Maeve Higgins is a Guardian US columnist and the author of the book Tell Everyone on This Train I Love Them
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