It's a broken world in need of light. It's a cruel world in need of kindness. It's an unforgiving world in need of understanding. It's a divided world in need of love. Be the light. Speak truth in kindness. Seek to understand. And always, always, do everything from love. ❤️
I wrote these words several months ago, so I wouldn't forget them. They were meant to be the start of a new blog - or perhaps the closing of it. With so much going on, I never got around to writing a blog to go with it. And today, with so much going on, I can't help but write.
Bear with me for a little while, as I try to make sense of all the thoughts swirling in my head. Each could be the start of its own diatribe, so I will try to stick to the ones that somehow can "stick" together.
What's on top of my mind, and probably yours? This pandemic. This period of isolation and how it's affecting everyone of us.
For a little while, it seemed like we could come together at last, grasping the need for humanity and compassion to move us through the newest crisis, since it seems crises are the most powerful catalysts to bring people together when need supersedes anything else.
We all went into isolation, some of us kicking and screaming, but all of us willing to do what we could for the common good. And yes, some of that was motivated by fear of what we still didn't know.
Now isolation is wearing out on us and our patience wearing thin. And fears are heightened - fear of contagion, fear of exposure, fear for the vulnerable, fear for loss of jobs, fear for loss of income, fear for the economy. And fear has sent us back to our corners, from which each side is ready to tear the other up because the other is heartless and soulless and cares nothing about saving lives, or heartless and soulless and unrealistic to not see the economic ramifications of a situation that is unsustainable.
Folks. It is not all or nothing. I, like many of you out there, have parents in their 70s with serious underlying health conditions and loved ones with compromised immune systems that make them most vulnerable to this virus. I, like many of you out there, want to protect them and figure out a way to spare them.
I also worry about the economic ramifications of all this. On the micro, more human level, I see people losing their work, unable to put food on their table and feed their children, worried about how they will make their next rent or mortgage payment. I see and know people who've put blood, sweat, tears and everything they have into their dream of having a small business that now is about to sink. As you extend beyond that, you can see sales tax, income tax and business tax revenues will plummet through this, leaving us all with severe budget deficits that will affect the most vulnerable once again, our education systems and public services, and lead to increasing budget deficits and debt. I don't care what side of the aisle you are on, this should concern you.
I also know this virus can't be stopped. It can only be slowed down. The measures we are in were not meant to eradicate the disease. They were meant to flatten the curve. And by all indications, we have achieved that. Some locations have been hammered, like New York. Others haven't seen nearly the numbers they expected to see because we stayed at home.
Don't skewer me for my next statement, because it is not meant to be callous. These measures were not taken solely because of mortality rates (which are still not fully known but believed to be far less than originally anticipated). They were taken so that we could take care of those who would need acute care, produce sufficient testing kits, hopefully find an effective treatment and eventually a vaccine. We can't stay locked down because of lives that will be lost. Yes, I hear you screaming at me right now. Yes, every life is important. However, if we are going to call a lock down solely on the fact that a disease can kill, then we will lock down for the flu, for pneumonia, and for a host of other transmittable diseases over which we have no control (and as a side note, we would all have to vaccinate, as varicella, mumps, etc., also can kill).
We have to get back out there responsibly, so we can continue to control the spread of this disease.
When one side says "reopen!" it doesn't mean fully, without precautions, without protective measures, without caring for those at highest risk.
When the other side says "stay home!" I hope it doesn't mean completely, everybody, but those who don't feel safe coming out.
There has to be a balance. Reopening is all about finding that balance and moving forward.
So, it seems the thought on top of my mind was just this one. And the words on the opening paragraph still apply, because in the end we do need to be kinder to each other and open to listening, open to dialogue.
I don't discount your need for safety, your worry for your health and that of your loved ones. Please know I share in that concern for my own family. And I fully understand the need for you to stay home if that is what you must do. I also know that people out there are desperate, not because of the inconvenience of all this, or because they can't get their nails done or their hair cut. They're desperate because they are sinking into quick sand, and there doesn't seem to be anyone around who will get there in time to help save them.
I pray for the sick, for those dying alone. I pray for the workers who have lost their income and the small business owners who are losing their businesses. I pray for those entrepreneurs out there who have had to let go of people who depend on them, as they close business locations. Let's pray for each other, for wisdom, for kindness, for compassion, for understanding, and for open hearts. And let's figure out a way to move forward.
