Letter: Calculus changes when you put face to statistics

<p><strong>To the editor:</strong></p><p>Our congressman has said out loud what many of his Republican colleagues have said and are saying in private: Let’s reopen the economy, even if it means killing people.</p><p>Just for the record, here’s what Rep. Trey Hollingsworth said:</p><p>“It is always the American government’s position to say, in the choice between the loss of our way of life as Americans and the loss of life, of American lives, we have to always choose the latter. The social scientists are telling us about the economic disaster that is going on. Our (Gross Domestic Product) is supposed to be down 20 percent alone this quarter. It is policymakers’ decision to put on our big boy and big girl pants and say it is the lesser of these two evils. It is not zero evil, but it is the lesser of these two evils and we intend to move forward that direction. That is our responsibility and to abdicate that is to insult the Americans that voted us into office.&quot;</p><p>It’s easy to talk statistics from a position of comfort and wealth in Washington, but around here those statistics aren’t numbers. They are people. And when you put faces on those statistics, the calculus changes.</p><p>Mr. Hollingsworth, are you willing to sacrifice your parents, your wife or your children for the sake of the economy?</p><p>What about the many seniors in your district? How many of them should die for the sake of the economy?</p><p>How many nurses, doctors and other staff members at hospitals, clinics and nursing homes must die for the sake of the economy?</p><p>How many police officers, firefighters and ambulance crew members need to die for the sake of the economy?</p><p>How many supermarket employees must die for the sake of the economy?</p><p>The list could go on, but the point is, these are real people trying their best to help out their neighbors in a time of crisis. What have you done in your spare time? Have you volunteered at a food pantry to make sure hungry Americans have a meal? Have you donated a significant portion of your salary to front-line agencies and organizations helping to meet the survival needs of Americans with limited resources?</p><p>I am guessing that some of your Republican colleagues have congratulated you on your “political courage” for mentioning the unmentionable. Sir, that is not courage. Putting Wall Street ahead of Main Street is not what Hoosiers elected you to do. Real political courage would be to speak out for those most in need.</p><p>During your campaign, you trumpeted the fact that you are firmly pro-life. But you need to go beyond protecting the unborn to protecting those Hoosiers and other Americans who are already born and who are in need of help.</p><p>A glib willingness to sacrifice lives in order to preserve your investment portfolio is not just callous or even cravenly indifferent, it is almost criminally negligent.</p><p><p><strong>Richard Gotshall</strong></p><p><p><strong>Franklin</strong></p>