Of People, Sacrifice, and Selfishness

I saw a headline that 3 out of 4 Americans say that coronavirus has changed their life.  Unless someone is a hermit, if we are all doing our part against this invisible enemy, shouldn’t that number be 4 out of 4?

The CDC asks us all to stay at home except for essential trips out, to limit group contacts, to practice social distancing.  Certainly that has to change one’s daily life to some extent, even if they have no other connection to the war against coronavirus.  Those people in essential jobs who do go out also must be experiencing differences in their workplaces as well as changes in their lives outside of work.

The CDC issued its 15-day guidelines last Monday.  These were guidelines that everyone in this country was asked to follow, the reason being that if we do so we have a good chance of really slowing the spread of the disease.  The more people that do not follow, the more likely that the epidemic will be worse, infect more people, and last longer.  

We should not have to wait for our governor or other authority figure to mandate compliance with these guidelines.  We should all, selflessly, be following them.  Those people who are part of the greatest generation, or close enough in age to them to have heard their stories of sacrifice, have some understanding of selfless sacrifice for the common good as a way to overcome a threat to a nation.  Apparently, that concept is lost on many others.

Here is some of the selfishness that I see in my community.  First, is the hoarding.  When shelves are restocked, people grab all they can – often enough of a product or food item to last them a year or more.  There is no consideration of their neighbor who might need just one of those items.   And, of course, the more available income one has, the more one can spend on hoarding, which often leaves those less financially able to do without. 

This hoarding also affects the truckers who are crucial to restocking the shelves.  In some places they and their loaded trucks need to be guarded by law enforcement.  This is nuts!   If people would limit themselves to what they need for 2 weeks, then we all could return to the stores in 2 week time periods to get what we need.  But sadly, some people are thinking only of themselves.

I went for a walk in my neighborhood.  People are out walking in groups crunched together on our narrow sidewalks.  These are not family groups who are already together in the same household.  These are friends and neighbors grouped together.  Apparently they don’t understand that any one of them could be an asymptomatic carrier, transmitting the virus to those they are with who could then transmit it to others and they to others.  This is how the virus spreads and what the guidelines and social distancing stop.  It’s a simple concept so I have to wonder if it is not about their lack of understanding, but their lack of care and concern for others.

When non-essential businesses stay open they are not only putting their employees and customers at risk, they are furthering the possibility of community spread to others, including the most vulnerable.  More importantly, they are setting a bad example by encouraging behavior that contradicts the CDC 15 day guidelines. 

I understand that it is devastating for a business, especially a small business to close and lose revenue.  But, in many cases businesses can compensate somewhat by having curbside services as well as increasing on-line commerce.  Even when that is not possible, even when it really hurts, if we don’t all pull together and fully follow the 15 day guidelines, then we are only creating the likelihood that this epidemic will be worse and last longer than it otherwise would. 

Some small businesses understand this.  They know they will take a hit (though the government is now working hard to make that hit far less than it might be).  When one of the Indian Pueblo’s Tribal leaders decided to voluntarily close their casino and other businesses, he stated that it would hurt their bottom line deeply and possibly permanently, but there was no question in his mind that everyone, including him, has a duty to our neighbors and that he would always put people above profits.  Unfortunately, not every business sees it this way and sadly, the bottom line for those that encourage people to come out and patronize them despite the current CDC guidelines is that they are telling us that to them, profits are more important than people. 

Then there are people who just can’t handle giving up their regular routines or pleasures.  The college kids on spring break who say things like “I won’t get it or if I do, so what, I don’t care” show us an ugly and selfish side of humanity:  thinking only of oneself and not others whom their behavior might adversely affect.  It reflects a stunning lack of social consciousness.  And that lack is especially startling when it so frequently comes from those who are always proclaiming the need for things like social justice, concern for those less fortunate, and flat line equality.

But it’s is not just young people.  Senior citizens are often just as reluctant to give up some regularly scheduled social gathering or to alter their routine in any way.  Like some of the young, these elderly do not seem to think that the guidelines should apply to them.  Such thinking is not only ignorant, it is also selfish; there is no excuse for such selfish disregard of guidelines that are for the good of all the people in this nation.

I also want to address the obsessive focus of some on the virus tests.  I understand that people want certainty and that a test confirms that one does or does not have the virus, but only at the moment of the test.  Testing does not lessen the spread or prevent one from getting the virus.  And demanding a test when the current medical and CDC guidelines do not show that one is indicated in a particular individual’s case simply slows down the administration and results for those for whom a test is medically indicated.  The mobile test sites in my area have lines that are miles long.  My guess is that many of these folks are there only seeking some sort of selfish certainty and not because a test for them is medically indicated.

I understand that all of us prefer certainty to uncertainty.  But we must accept that there is no certainty with this virus.  We don’t know how long it will be with us; we don’t know exactly how much our behavior can flatten the curve; we don’t know when or if there will be a cure.  It does no one any good to whine about this or complain that the government isn’t telling us.  Indeed, this administration and its team of experts are being enormously transparent about the information they do have.  They hold daily briefings, as well as other meetings that are live streamed.  I’ve been watching the daily morning news conferences and yesterday I also watched the teleconference with state governors.  Anyone else could do the same.

It is from the experts that we all should be getting our information.  There is, of course, all the false or inaccurate information, the fear mongering, the conspiracy theories, the anti or pro government rhetoric, all sorts of theories and cures and predictions put forth by people who have no actual facts or expertise in the area.  None of this serves to help the situation.  Things like whether or not to call this virus that came to the world from China the Chinese virus in the same way we have named other pandemics or diseases after countries or places of their origin (e.g. Spanish flu, West Nile virus, German Measles, Japanese Encephalitis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, to name just a few).  Don’t we have more important things to focus on while saving this sniping for after we have won our war against this virus?

While I am proud of the 3 out of 4 who are sacrificing in some way as they follow the guidelines, even if it is simply learning how to chill out alone at home, I am also disheartened by the rest of my countrymen who seem to be presenting a lack of concern, a lot of selfishness, and an inability to sacrifice for the common good.  One out of 4, it can be inferred from that poll, are more selfish than selfless. 

Everyone needs to read the CDC guidelines and educate themselves on the reasoning behind them – why it is so important that everyone – 4 out of 4 – take them seriously and follow them so as to limit to the greatest extent possible this deadly pandemic for which we currently have no vaccine or cure.

When this is all over and we can go out without limitation again, I hope that we all reflect upon what we have learned about ourselves and our neighbors, about this country and its resilience and whether or not we really can all come together for the common good.  We will remember our actions and those of others, for it is actions that speak louder than words.  We will remember whose actions said what.  And we will have the opportunity to take further action to express our feelings about who did what; for example we can go out of our way to patronize businesses that shut down before they were forced to, while remembering differently those that put profit or self-interest above their fellow humankind. 

This is a great opportunity for us all to raise our often-professed social consciousness or patriotism to a new level.  This is an opportunity to us all to realize what it is like to work together for a common good.  As Yoda of Star Wars says, “Do.  Or do not.  There is no try.” The sacrifices we are all asked to make are simple.  As Rosy the Riveter said in WWII– “We can do it!”  So let’s make that number who DO follow the guidelines and alter their behavior a full 4 out of 4 so we can defeat this virus as soon as possible.

We’re All in This Together – Except When We’re Not

COVID-19 is a virus that threatens every person in this country and potentially every person in the world.  While not a visible army, we can very much consider ourselves under attack and the leaders of every country are under an obligation to do the best they can to protect their people.

I happen to think that our President is doing a fantastic job.  He has assembled a team of experts to advise him, led by the very competent Vice President.  President Trump has coordinated and brought together the resources that are available to him, has brought private industry and their innovation and resources into the mix, he has gotten our Congress to begin to work bipartisanly for the good of the people instead of themselves.  The President has acted decisively and quickly and in so doing has likely lessened at least somewhat the spread and effects of the epidemic in this country.  He continues to act as he daily consults with his experts and the new information that they daily gain about the virus.

The President is working for the people of the country.  Many of those people are also working selflessly for their fellow Americans.  And those that are not a part of critical services, those that have been asked to social distance and not go out for non-essential reasons can and should also do their part for America against this invisible enemy.  Many are; sadly, some are not.

This virus can be asymptomatic – a person can have the virus and be able to infect others without feeling any symptoms themselves.  We should all consider ourselves carriers, and the best way to lessen the spread of the virus is for us all, then, to avoid going out in public where we, or our touch on tables, door handles, etc., can possibly spread the virus to others.  To go out, when we do not have to, is to put our fellow Americans at risk.

Yet too many seem to believe that it is about them, not others.  They are not sick, so why not go out.  They think they are healthy and won’t get sick, so why not go out.  There is no concern for the less healthy others who might indeed get sick or die from the virus that they might spread.  The part that most Americans are being asked to play is nothing like the burdens that Americans have suffered together in times of war (ask your parents/grandparents about the second world war!).  We are simply being asked to stay in and away from others as much as possible.  Not a big sacrifice, yet still some are not willing to take it.

For some, it is just a matter of changing their usual social behaviors.  For others – small business people for example, it may be a bigger sacrifice as they close their doors for 2 or 3 weeks, lay off their employees, and lose revenue.  Yes, that is a big deal.  Yet the President and Congress are passing and have passed a series of bills that will in large part alleviate the losses.  This President will forget no one, and we Americans need to trust that he and Congress together will keep us whole.

So, we the people can and should all pull together and each of us do our part for the good of our neighbors and our country.  We need to put self-interest and self-centeredness aside and begin thinking of the many others with whom we are in this together.

But there is another group I would like to address, and that is those who continue to see this as a political goldmine.  First, let me say that I am impressed in the last few days with the bipartisanship that has surfaced in Washington as the Congress and the White House seem to be, for the most part working together.  While realistically I suspect this will not continue once we have won the current war against the virus, I would like to hope that at least  a small part of it will in some way remain and evolve into something both positive and permanent.

But then there are others.  At a time when we need to be working together, I read about a Democrat PAC that plans to spend five million on ads attacking President Trump’s handling of the epidemic even as we are in the middle of the crisis.   When people are already balking or not understanding the need to follow the CDC/White House guidelines which are clearly necessary to attack and slow this virus, why would a group choose to try to make people question the President’s actions that include issuing those guidelines?

This most recent PAC is not alone in its actions.  There are other PACs taking similar actions.  Biden and Sanders have not held back in their attacks on how the President is handling the crisis. And of course the Press, even at the daily White House press briefings, latches onto and furthers these attacks.

There will be plenty of time to attack the President and his actions once this crisis is over.  It will be over a lot sooner if we let the President and his experts continue their thus far effective strategies rather than trying to convince the American people that he is incompetent or doesn’t care about this or them, or whatever lies they are trying to spread.

On NPR this morning they were focusing on problems with testing from weeks ago and letting people complain about the incompetence of the system as if it were today.  To be clear, doctors and experts have emphatically stated that problems with testing at the beginning were not the fault of Trump or the CDC, but of a system in place that did not work for this sort of epidemic.  Since then, the President has revamped the system and partnered with private industry to create quicker and faster tests and make them available to all who need them.  Let’s applaud that rather than whine about a problem that has already been handled.

And, as to those tests, not every single American needs one and if every American demands the certainty of knowing they do/do not have the virus they will only clog the system.  People who need tests can get them.  Let the system work.

The Press often attacks because they get information today that was not given yesterday or perhaps conflicts with earlier information.  Well, the information that we have about the virus is evolving hourly as the experts have more data to analyze and more cases to review.  Trump’s team is doing this, informing him, and hence he has new and sometimes different information to provide.  This is not a bad thing.

But then, if you are Donald Trump, too often in the eyes of the Press you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t.  For example, he was criticized for his early decisive action to stop incoming flights from China.  There is no dispute that this early decisive action greatly reduced the threat in our country.  When he could no longer be criticized for closing the borders, he was then criticized for not doing it soon enough.  Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.  And certainly not helpful in a time of crisis.

Then there are the repeated attacks because the President (and others) call this the Chinese Virus.  Hey, it came from China.  If it came from America it would be an American virus.  Those are facts.  Calling the virus Chinese is not racist, even if there were no other reason for doing so.  But, besides it being a factual statement, it counters a propaganda campaign waged by China that it was American soldiers who brought the virus to China.  It emphasizes the falsity of that Chinese propaganda.  That is not racist and attempts to make it so are simply attempts to divide the country when we should be trying to bring everyone together with the common goal of defeating this viral enemy.

When a country is under attack, when it is at war, it is a time for the people to pull together for the common good and the good of their country.  They become less self-centered and more concerned with the greater good.  Most Americans are doing this now.  But there are those who are not in this together with the rest of us, who simply see this crisis as an opportunity to further their own selfish interests.  While I hope the American people can and will recognize this, that task becomes harder when one of those who is not pulling together but instead participates in the sowing of seeds of dissention is the Press.  We get our information from the Press and its ability to objectively approach and report news is crucial to our ability to understand a crisis and each do our part to help resolve it.

There are those who have been trying to pull this country apart for several years now.  Their continuing such actions in a time of crisis should prove to all that they do not care about our country or any of us, its people, but instead only care about their own agendas and their own power.  They can only hurt us.

But, to the many Americans who do believe that we are all in this together, who are doing their part in our war against the Coronavirus, I applaud you for your sacrifices, be they great or small.  Thank you for understanding the war we are in, for listening to our leaders and experts, for following the guidelines, even as they evolve, and for protecting not only yourself but your neighbors as well.  If we all pull together we will beat this thing sooner rather than later, so let’s just ignore those disrupters who are not in this with us.