With considerable fanfare, President Donald Trump announced last week that he had directed the Department of Health and Human Services to declare the opioid epidemic a public health emergency.

He called it a public health emergency, he stopped short of declaring it a national emergency, because that would have required the expenditure of ample money to begin to address the epidemic that took some 59,000 lives last year and ruined untold numbers more. It is happening every year and there is no end in sight, especially because drugs are becoming more potent and cheaper to obtain.

As usual, the declaration that the country will address and conquer whatever problem is at hand, Trump, said, “We are going to overcome addiction in America.” Also as usual, the tenor of his remarks at the White House indicate that he feels that he is the one, and perhaps the only one, who can beat the nation’s monstrous drug problem. His statements recall those of First Lady Nancy Reagan, when she urged America to “just say no” to drugs three decades ago. Trump’s declaration of a drug emergency will amount to more of the same and will accomplish as much as Nancy’s effort did. If her silly slogan had worked, there would not be a crisis now.

Because there is no money in the budget to address the opioid epidemic as it should be addressed, Trump’s words ring hollow and, to be sure, he will not make much of an effort to see that there is money for the fight against addiction. The epidemic is certainly taking its toll on all Americans, but especially, on young people, those who should be preparing to take on the governance of the nation at all levels, from the town board to Congress, to the presidency.

In addition to his saying it would be “really, really easy” to not start taking drugs, he also indicated that he took his brother’s advice not to take to drink. His brother, Fred, was an alcoholic and, if Trump actually took the advice of his brother and avoided strong drink, it may be the only example of his taking anyone’s advice on anything. Rather, he seemed to want to show that he can do just about anything better than just about anyone else. But he doesn’t know what he is talking about, for the opioid problem (all drug problems, for that matter) are societal in nature and need to be addressed at that level. Slogans will not do the job.

It's time for the country to take a deeper look at what might be causing the current opioid epidemic and its sister drug epidemics of all kinds. It’s time for a look at the problem from a different perspective.

Many years ago, there was a conversation about the railroad yards in the City of Albany, New York State’s capital. A longtime union leader whose family had connections to the railroads was standing outside the area of the yards and recollecting the time of his childhood, when the railroads were still hauling most of the industrial goods of the nation and the West Albany yards were filled with working men (still mostly men at that time).

On the opposite side of the street from every gate was a bar where the workers cashed their checks on payday and had a few beers after work every day. The work was taxing physically, injuries were frequent, and they learned to work through their pain, because their pay usually was the only income for their families. And, this was true across the country, wherever there were heavy industries, hard physical work, and injuries were to be expected. They learned to work through the pain from their injuries, big and small.

Through the years, it appeared to some that beer and other drinks were a form of self-medication. The simplest treatment for chronic aches and pains was a few beers and, eventually, for many, they took to stronger drink and that became another problem, personal and societal. There were waves of social efforts to curb the alcohol addiction, from more than a century ago, to this day. But none of it seemed to solve the problem and, eventually, it became as much a law enforcement problem as a public health problem.

Alarm bells are going off today in the time of drug addiction because it not only shatters the lives of millions of Americans, one of the penalties is instant death, especially from the use of heroin laced with fentanyl and from drugs out of home medicine cabinets. It is a societal problem and it must be treated as a problem of the entire society, which means that governments at all levels need to address the problem broadly. If the “opioid epidemic” is to be addressed as a societal problem, all the elements of a society that are lacking need to be addressed at once: well-paying jobs, good housing, quality education for all, full health care for all, a clean environment, and all the things that make for a decent standard of living. And, probably one of the most important, an end to perpetual war and its destructive forces around the world and at home.

All the elements of a just society have been eliminated, starved, or left to wither in place. Departments of government that provide for the people have been eliminated or worse, Trump has put individuals in place whose intent is to destroy the efficacy of the agency, such as the Environmental Protection Agency. His Republican majorities in Congress have put forth a health care plan that leaves tens of millions of Americans without health care. The number of agencies that have been so affected by Trump and the Republicans is great, and most of them exist to provide what society needs to live decently.

More and more money from the federal budget has been allocated to the military and defense budgets, such that there is little money left to provide for the people’s programs. There is no indication that there will be a change in the near future. Money will continue to be drained away for war and tax cuts for the wealthy. Those on the front lines of the “drug war” feel that Trump’s declaration of an emergency is a good first step, but his action (really, just his words) will not result in a commitment of the funds needed to address the nation’s drug problem. He and his Republicans, who he doesn’t even appear to like, will not be deterred from their goal of an even larger military and even more destructive weapons systems and a big tax cut for corporations and the already obscenely rich.

It isn’t any wonder that the nation is crying for help and is trying to self-medicate through drugs and other distractions that numb the pain. This is the time for the U.S.A. to address the problem of drug abuse and the deaths that accompany it as a problem of the whole society, not just those who don’t see any future for themselves or their children. The need now is to look for a solution to the drug epidemic in the context of the society that exists and to begin to make that society one that gives people young and old a reason to face every day with resolve and sense of purpose. This will not happen if the opioid epidemic is treated as an individual problem and if each individual is treated in isolation from the rest of society.

The half-hearted and insincere utterances of a president who seems to be detached from everything about which he should be concerned will not solve the problem, especially since he has hedged his pronouncements about drug abuse and is likely not to try very hard to find the money to solve the problem. There must be a few among the majority in Congress and even in his own administration who know that the solution lies in a complete realignment of societal priorities. That kind of change is not likely to see the light of day, much less be acted upon, for their priorities remain: Untold profits for Corporate America, tax cuts for the rich, and a military so strong and so expensive that the rest of society cannot survive.

In an earlier time, beer might have solved some of the pain for industrial workers everywhere, but the self-medication of so many millions through use of opioids or other drugs today will never ease the pain of a society in decline. This is, indeed, an emergency, but the current policies and the politicians in charge are not the answer to this profound crisis.