TL;DR
The last 200 years have been a string of miracles, but humans adapt so quickly that they take them for granted, and that is leading to short-sighted decisions that could dismantle the very foundation of our survival.
Born in 1988, the year the FDA approved AZT, the first antiretroviral drug for HIV, someone might not have learned about it until adulthood, because by the time they could understand what HIV meant, it had already turned from a death sentence into a manageable condition. The miracle had quietly slipped into the background.
Smallpox is a perfect example
Smallpox, which killed hundreds of millions, was eradicated in 1979. It took 150 million people thirteen years to pull off. Yet nobody remembers it now, nobody gives thanks.
Similarly, the Green Revolution is estimated to have saved over a billion lives. But people today don't treat food as a miracle; they just get annoyed when delivery is slow.
Forget the miracle, and you'll dismantle it
The human brain adapts quickly to new baselines. It's an evolutionary feature, but it makes us undervalue what we have, including vaccines.
The US declared measles eliminated in 2000, but declining vaccination rates have brought it back. People don't remember what measles does to children, so the vaccine looks like a pointless precaution.
When a miracle becomes background noise, the infrastructure sustaining it starts to seem unnecessary. Budget cuts, skipped inspections, deferred maintenance — each seems rational on its own. But cumulatively, they could dismantle the very life-support system we depend on.
Plain truth: even the greatest miracle needs annual care and funding, not just a passive thank you.
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