It is tragic that so many fellow humans are allowed to suffer or die while the rest of us watch, or worse, turn a blind eye and never get involved. A civilized society must never neglect so many of its suffering citizens. As psychiatrists, we are aware of those human travesties around us, but we are often so overwhelmed with our work and personal responsibilities that few of us are passionately advocating or setting aside some time for those victimized by one or more of these endemic pandemics. And unless we all decide to be actively, meaningfully involved, many lives will continue to be lost every day, but without the daily “casualty count” displayed on television screens, as is the case with COVID-19 causalities.
Regrettably, maybe that old saw is true: out of sight, out of mind.