(New York Times) – The takeaway from these and similar parables is clear, Dr. Sharfstein says: Crisis can be a powerful catalyst for shaping policy and improving society. But just like any such tool, it can be misused as easily as used.

If that lesson isn’t new, it’s very much worth reviewing now. The United States is in what can only be described as an epoch of crisis. There is no quarter of American life that has not been claimed by the term, from the planet (climate) to the Republic (democracy, migration, housing) to the deepest chambers of the human heart (loneliness, despair). In the future, if we survive that long, historians will marvel at either our capacity to endure so much hardship at once or our ability to label so many disparate problems with the same graying word. In the meantime, officials and policymakers — and, yes, journalists — ought to consider how they employ this term and why, and whether it’s having the desired effect.

There’s no better place to start than with public health. (Read More)