The worldwide pandemic demands re-examination of our core objectives as researchers and practitioners. A first requirement is that we must attend to the widespread suffering (deaths, unemployment, food lines, evictions) that has unfolded with awareness that it has not been equally distributed across the social order. Those already vulnerable have been disproportionately impacted, thus calling for new agendas to address the ever deepening plague of inequality – a defining feature of our era. Second, we need to take on the problem of stupidity, which has been largely neglected by psychology. I will emphasize a particular contemporary variety: allowing oneself to believe in lies perpetrated by others. How swallowing such lies damages the human experience will be examined while calling for new research needed to document the scope of who is being duped and to prevent its future occurrence. Third, in the face of the monumental misery we have witnessed, a further societal disorder has been brought into high relief: namely, the indifference evident among some in privileged segments of society. Examples will be provided with emphasis on why this is happening and the need for future science on greed at the top – its scope and consequences for the wellbeing of others. This dystopian harangue will conclude with consideration of what is needed to regain a hold on our better angels via a return to vitally needed ideals and inspiration. An exemplar of where we can find such nourishment is Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass (1855), viewed as one of the great masterpieces of American literature. Above all, the work is a celebration of life, detailing its beauty and sometimes ugliness, while giving particular emphasis on the common individual, the magnificence of nature, and the essential spirit of democracy.