The Great Pandemic of 2020 has struck our society and our economy like a tsunami, and, like a tsunami that is beginning to recede, we are beginning to observe the extent of the damage.

We are terrified for our health and for our jobs. We mourn an unimaginable death toll. And we have no idea what kind of world we will find ourselves in when normalcy, whatever that may be, returns.

It is at times like this that great forces can be unleashed, both for good and evil. The Great Depression brought Hitler and his Nazis to power. Europe would be decimated before the forces for good were completely deployed, first through Winston Churchill, who inspired Britain in the darkest hours of 1940 and 1941, then Franklin Roosevelt, who addressed a stunned America on December 8, 1941, and called for a vast mobilization.

What we are facing today is no less significant. This time, however, a force for good emerged early as Congress acted with unparalleled swiftness and bipartisanship to pass a record aid package.

But the dark forces of cynicism and hyper partisanship are once again taking hold. With our states, counties, and cities reeling, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is singling out certain states as undeserving of further aid because they have been “mismanaged”. Never mind that these states so happen to be large Democratic-leaning states. And never mind that these states, unlike McConnell’s Kentucky and many other Republican-controlled states, contribute more to the federal government in tax revenue than they receive in federal benefits.

Even before the pandemic, no one would mistake McConnell for a Roosevelt or a Churchill. But to double-down on partisanship and divisiveness at a time like this is the ugliest, most anti-American form of politics.

The situation that local governments across the country will likely face as the pandemic recedes has received scant reporting so far. But it is clear that the finances of every public entity have been decimated, with tax revenue plunging and expenses for fighting the pandemic soaring. Budgets passed before the outbreak are a distant dream.

Without further substantial aid from the federal government, thousands of public employees will lose their jobs as every public agency struggles to balance its budget. From teachers to first responders, no job will be safe.

In such an environment, greatness is achieved by the government doing as much as it possibly can, not by doing too little. The first gigantic stimulus packages got that right, but they were in many ways easy to support across party lines. The hard work is ahead as divisive forces again ramp up and politicians revert to their tired talking points about “mismanaged” states and feigned concern for the federal deficit and debt. Where were their furrowed brows in 2017 when Republicans passed a trillion-dollar tax cut that went mostly to the wealthy, then proceeded to pass huge spending increases?

I have this message to everyone who is concerned about federal debt and deficits: the U.S. government does not need to run itself like your household. The limit on the ability of the U.S. government to finance deficit spending has never been remotely approached despite all of the very serious grumbling by seemingly concerned politicians, and with near-zero interest rates the cost of doing so will never be lower. We hear we would be “mortgaging our future”, another meaningless political slogan. In fact, it is the only chance to salvage our future.

We can and must spend massively now to save our schools, our first responders, our cities, our counties, and ultimately ourselves as a nation. Not once, not twice, but as many times as it takes to get us back on our feet. It will be messy and imperfect, but it must continue. That is why it will require another courageous leader to emerge, someone who cares about every American and does not see the need to apologize about doing everything it takes to help every one of them.

But today, it’s not clear who that leader might be. We can only hope he or she can be found.