What Really Matters: Living a Moral Life amidst Uncertainty and Danger by Arthur Kleinman, M.D.

What Really Matters
The premise of Kleinman's book is that for many people (especially those in my generation and older), many years have passed in the United States without any major events occurring that constitute existential risk or danger. This feeling of security was punctured some on 9/11, but this event did not usher in any major re-organization of society or major changes in our culture. Implicit in his argument is the notion that as a society we choose to ignore existential risk, choosing instead to live "a big lie" that enables us to carry on our daily routines without confronting these deeper questions of our own mortality and the dangers we face on a daily basis.
He reinforces his argument by telling stories of people he has met and interviewed, and from his own life.
Please respond to the following questions in relation to Kleinman's book:
What is the "big lie" that Kleinman speaks of?
What does he suggest we confront instead of living out the "big lie"?
Why does Kleinman think it is important of us to confront existential risk?
You all are now growing up in an environment that DOES feature a new form of existential risk (Covid, of course, but also things like climate change). Do you think this will fundamentally change the way you live your life going forward - the way you view your own mortality? The way you respond to or care for others? The way you value and live your own life? Or will you and your peers continue to live "the big lie" in order to carry on and function in the manner that you are accustomed?
Using at lease one concrete example from the book, discuss how the existential challenges your generation faces compares to the moral dilemmas Kleinman describes among his colleagues and research subjects.
Content: Your response should be thoughtful and should reference the assigned readings as directed by the prompt. The best strategy for answering these is to make sure you directly respond to all aspects of the prompt or prompts. Some prompts will require you to compare and contrast readings, relate readings to contemporary events, or detail and recount the argument of a specific reading. Your responses should be around 500 words.