Gun violence is a public health crisis. As dean of the Boston University School of Public Health, I often comment in the wake of mass shootings. Every time, I try to find a new way of saying what we all know: that mass shootings are a uniquely American epidemic, that we could greatly reduce their number through common sense gun laws passed at the federal level, that the political inertia around this issue is literally killing people.

President Donald Trump has failed Puerto Rico. Notwithstanding his pledge to visit the U.S. commonwealth next week, a coordinated federal relief effort has been slow to coalesce, even as the situation on the ground grows more dire. Trump himself has been slow to speak as well as to act. In the days after the storm, he tweeted 17 times on the subject of football players kneeling during the national anthem to protest racism, but could not spare a single statement addressing the crisis in Puerto Rico.

On July 16, 1945, the first atomic bomb was successfully tested in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory that developed the bomb, would later recall that, on witnessing the explosion, he found himself thinking of a line from the Bhagavad Gita: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” This ancient phrase is fitting when applied to the subject of nuclear weapons, a technology with the potential to end life on earth. When discussing such a terrible possibility, it makes sense that we should use only our most carefully considered words.

Once a hurricane is over, there is never a better time to forget it ever happened. For the majority of Americans who do not live in a region that has been recently devastated by a storm, this can be easy. Perhaps with the exception of Hurricane Katrina, large-scale natural disasters capture the national interest under just two circumstances: right before they occur and right after. This can be hard to accept, especially in the midst of a terrible, still-unfolding hurricane season. On the heels of Harvey and Irma, Hurricane Maria has created devastation in the Caribbean, killing at least one person and ravaging sections of Dominica. As it speeds toward Puerto Rico, the governor of the island has called it “the biggest and potentially most catastrophic hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in a century.” It is hard to imagine ever forgetting such devastation. Yet, time and again, we do. Why?

As Hurricane Harvey bore down on the United States, President Trump pledged to unleash “the full force of government” to assist the victims of the storm. The White House later released a statement outlining the administration’s plan to make federal funds available to affected individuals, state and local governments, and some nonprofit organizations to meet the demands of the emergency. In the ensuing days, as rain and floodwaters have inundated Texas, Americans have responded generously, adding to the resources available to Harvey’s victims. Celebrities and businesses have contributed millions to relief efforts, airlines have offered miles in exchange for disaster relief donations, and everyday citizens continue to give their time and money to help those whose lives were shaken by the hurricane.

The national turmoil we are witnessing [in the United States] is not just a crisis of institutions, or politics, or a society at a crossroads. It is also a crisis of health.

Hate, such as the kind we witnessed in Charlottesville, Virginia, is like a disease, spreading among populations, undermining health in a manner eerily similar to that of a pathogen. When a society is infected by hate, it is not hard to see how it can affect our bodies and minds.

The National Weather Service has called Hurricane Harvey "unprecedented;" Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called it "one of the largest disasters America has ever faced." Yet for all that is shocking and unique about Harvey, there is also a familiarity to it. 

Harvey is no longer classified as a hurricane, but the destruction caused by the storm continues to unfold. In recent days, parts of Houston, Texas have been hit with as many as 30 inches of rain. Nearby cities and towns have been overwhelmed by floodwaters, as swollen lakes and rivers have spilled into surrounding communities. As many as six people have died because of Harvey — that figure is expected to rise — and officials say that over 30,000 people may need to be housed in temporary shelters. The National Weather Service has emphasized the unprecedented nature of the storm, tweeting that it is “beyond anything experienced.”