The America We Are ~ a Unified Covid 19 Response
The Atlantic’s recent article “America Has Lost the Plot on COVID” by Sarah Zhang brings many pertinent questions to the fore. But the most important one is, what is the end goal? And is our country united enough to see the cresting of the wave of the existential threat(s) we will all too soon be facing? And by ‘we’ I don’t mean just Americans. I mean #WE, as in all human beings within arms/eyes/ears/hearts reach.
Let’s face it. By now, month 20 and counting, we all have #CovidFatigue #CompassionFatigue — call it what you will . Well, most of us do anyway. We need to keep framing the problem we face as #TheProblem it is. It is in everyone’s best interest to practice the preventative and mitigation measures our professionals and experts have laid out for us because it is inherently, an acknowledgement that we all live on planet earth together. It’s actually the most American — and the most human — thing we could do. But those who fight vehemently against the solidarity of our united response to the Pandemic — and those who apathetically and callously continue with their day to day destruction of our safety, security and environment — will sadly and quite likely be the first to be made aware of their short comings and short sightedness — or blindness, and in some cases malicious (dare I say terrorist) — acts against other Americans. Against humanity. These impenetrable ones, the ones that go against the science, the truth and all that we have held sacred for millennia, will be humanities’ undoing, as millions more will die and continue to suffer long term illnesses. Blame it on our complacency, our stubbornness or even our reptile brains, we have only just begun this fight — and soon will come the time of choosing your side, or should I say ‘charge’?.
Are you on the side of humanity and making a few concessions, taking a few hits, making a few changes for our shared health and the preservation of our personal lives and our increasingly volatile ecosystem here on on star ship Earth? (If you think the correlation is not inextricably intertwined, you do not deserve a #ClubHuman membership.)
Or will you dig in your heels — continuing to create and perpetuate the incessant stream of fabricated reality and discord — ignorantly insisting on facing the decidedly ‘unknown’ in your tiny row boat made of (insert your favorite short coming______)? Forever risking your one last chance at saving anything of value or integrity, in the here and now? (That sounded dire, but the moment actually kind of is.)
Ultimately, your choice makes no difference to the star and protagonist/antagonist of our story. The Corona Sars2 Virus does not discriminate, nor does it mind having more hosts within which it will undoubtedly grow and mutate. I suppose we can either address it directly and face it head on in a front of unified resistance, or let it take us and our breath before we even realize what the experts were about it was all tr …
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We need a goal. Every American loves to reach for a goal. We’ve always been a competitive — if not #ColorfullyContentious bunch. A good goal, especially for the adult American public — people 18 and older, would be to reach an 85–90 % vaccination rate. It may very well be totally unrealistic, but the more time I spend talking to people that have actually contracted Covid 19 — the more I realize just how much Americans want to live and die with their freedom of choice intact. The sheer arrogance and (decidedly white) entitlement is mind boggling. The other freedom I hear being exercised is abstinence or apathy — better known in broader circles as ‘sloth’. This can be chalked up under the category of fear and is often times, nothing short of cowardice. Your country hears your woes and feels your pain, but neither of these are legitimate excuses for inaction. If we are going to win against this unseen foe, we all must #DoWhatYouCan.
And I’m hearing kick back — especially men (no offense gentlemen), which makes the task of offering education, guidance and spiritual leadership— so incredibly ironic — and that much more difficult, as women are, presently, the ones fighting for our lives the hardest. In almost every household for which there has been an unvaccinated and infectious individual — by choice — there has usually been one particularly vocal (and fearful) male postulating about how bothered he and his family have been to have to change their lives in order to comply with any mitigation or protective measures being asked of them.
Sometimes the adult women chime in, which REALLY begins to beg the question to the point of absurdity. Buuuuut for these self righteous freedom fighters — these “Heritage Americans” -it’s too much to ask to keep their hard won disease to themselves. Did you know that the contagion an unvaccinated person shares is actually more virulent than that of a vaccinated person? That is the cherry on the top of this giant pile of irony. These “Freedumb fighters” can not be bothered with acting on their own behalf, let alone any one else’s. They must- in fact- infect and kill as many people as possible. It is criminal. This relatively rare, and yet significantly obstructive behavior confounds me and so very many, many other Americans — for whom this Pandemic can not be over soon enough - to the very core. As long as we allow this behavior to go unchecked, we will never be able to stem the spread — nor will we ever be able to pass landmark legislation regarding the Dignity of Life statutes Americans so richly deserve. It only takes one rotten apple in the bunch to ruin the entire basket — a handful of belligerent idiots to upend an entire democracy.
Honestly, I’ve come to accept the fact that some individuals do not want assistance — may never even realize they need assistance — and would rather face the trials of contagion, jeopardizing the security of their own lives and the lives of everyone around them — than listen to or associate themselves with a perfectly logical (let alone honorable) solution based in science. Apparently education, history and science are bad and indications of ‘evil’ to these individuals. Do not be mistaken — THESE are the ‘witches’ among us.
As the Pandemic wears on, and people resist the inherent change and catharsis of recognizing the error of our shared ignorance and cultural mistakes (ie. learning, empowerment, growth or god-forbid — even #wokeness), we will see a proportionate amount of people dying or creating inherently long term illnesses as we go. Until the citizens of earth have devised a way of giving these individuals their very own rocket ship trip to a private space station orbiting some far off star where they can live out their ultimately exclusive days — living the best and freest version of their lives, it is a very sad and sobering realization.
Humans often raise and wave the flag of anger and fear in the face of that which is not undersood. Ultimately, this is personal cowardice. In this new Pandemic world we have come to find ourselves navigating daily, such displays should actually be recognized as a cry for help. Who wouldn’t, in their right mind, be seeking an ally to fight this unseen, unknown and largely misunderstood adversary? Any sane, self-actualized person would recognize the existential crisis all of humanity is facing and just get on board. What lies beneath the hard exterior of arrogant stubbornness and willful ignorance is a sad and crumbling resolve of understanding and a pointed focus on avoiding the facts — avoidance of self. Forgiveness and humility are too often two hard earned qualities of our human condition. Sadly, sometimes it is not until the very end — that people decide to let go of their convictions and beliefs — especially the ones that keep them locked in a lonely and faithless hell — so they can even entertain asking what may be possible in the realm of hope.
We do need to set a goal. The numbers stated in Sarah Zhang’s article surrounding San Francisco also sounded more realistic: “San Francisco and seven other Bay Area counties recently set three-pronged criteria for lifting indoor mask mandates: (1) Community transmission is moderate, as defined by the CDC, for at least three weeks, (2) hospitalization numbers are low and stable, and (3) 80 percent of the total population is fully vaccinated or eight weeks have passed since COVID-19 vaccines have been available for kids age 5 to 11.” Might these numbers be possible for your city or township too? With everyone’s admittance of their human frailty and embracing of a much larger, more inclusive version of themselves — #WeCanDoThis.
After each new election cycle’s results have been tallied, I believe we’ll begin to see the forest through the trees. We can slowly walk away from ignorance and apathy if we allow our selves the chance to learn from our mistakes. The Pandemic has given us all an opportunity to make these personal choices. If we see your faces in or on our reliably reporting news sources or feeds, screaming at people who are trying to #DoTheRightThing in School Board meetings, behaving as hypocrites, exploiting children who are too young to and vulnerable to protect themselves — if you are a belligerent or non-science-believer (NSB)— we’ll know which side you’ve chosen and we’ll all make it a priority to make our peace with you. But don’t push it, you’ve already taken up enough of our time, breath and good faith — and we’re tiring from your wanton indigence.
Be a good human. #DoWhatYouCan to #RespectHer — respect yourself. Change your ways. Although it may not feel like it now, it’s what humans are most capable of — WE’RE HUMANS, DUH. Each of us is only here for a short time — why not make the most of it? Why not behave like you really ‘give a hoot’. Ok fine, your fellow humans may miss seeing you and living it up with you at #ClubHuman, but I tell you the earth will — most certainly, not.
‘Buh bye’ lesser me. Hello enlightenment. 😌 2022 will be our year to shine. 😉❤️
