Allow me to first say again what we said on Sunday in regard to the coronavirus and prudent preparation…
“Be guided by medical advice and not your feelings…
Limit your exposure to coronavirus news (due to biased news sources)…
Be well-informed from health advisories but make sure your sources are credible…
Follow the CDC guidelines for washing your hands…
Don’t let fear rule your daily living…”
Allow me also repeat: “It is no one’s prerogative to tell another that they have no valid reason to fear; we are often too quick — and not always empathetic and sometimes a little arrogant, truthfully — to tell another they have no reason to be afraid.”
I conclude, therefore, that fear shouldn’t rule our lives, but we need to be empathetic to the fears of another. We each perceive things differently. Mercy will thus always triumph over judgment, especially in how we relate to one another.
But the reality is so much info is out there, friends. Keep reading — albeit not excessively much. Remember there exist motives from many to both inflame and downplay. I prefer falling prey to neither.
Hence, with a desire to embrace a common sense, cautionary approach, I was struck by the insight of columnist David French. Allow me to thoughtfully, humbly share…
“At this point, after you sift through all the tweet threads about the coronavirus, read all the articles, and watch all the news reports—there is a single message that blasts through, loud and clear. This is no time for business as usual. There’s no need to panic. However, each one of us needs to alter our behavior, at least to some degree. Stop shaking hands. If you feel sick, be courteous to others and stay home, lest you alarm (or infect) everyone around you with your coughing and wheezing. Rethink travel plans, including potentially that dream vacation you’ve spent the year (or years) saving to afford.
There’s more, much more, that Americans can do depending on their roles at home, at work, and in public service. But there’s a common factor: To minimize the risk of facing the kind of crisis that has killed thousands, crippled Chinese cities, damaged the Chinese economy, and is afflicting Italy, Americans will have to take the coronavirus seriously, and they’ll have to engage in at least some degree (even if small) of personal sacrifice.
That requires trust—including trust in your neighbors, in members of the media who transmit information about the virus, and in public health officials. That trust will require a change in behavior even if no one you know is sick, even if you feel healthy, and even if the virus isn’t yet in your community.
But here’s the catch. We’re living in a low-trust time…”
Oh my…
We’re living in a low-trust time.
How many times can I “amen” the above?
The whole challenge with the current leadership, society, government, partisanship, social media infighting, demonizing, tribalism, sides and divides and all the other schismatic crud is that when there’s a gap between you and me, so-to-speak (… or a gap between Republicans and Democrats, blacks and whites, Christians and non-Christians, etceteras and etceteras), we have a choice…
Will we fill that gap with suspicion or will we fill that gap with trust?
The choice is one or the other.
Hence, allow me to humbly but boldly submit…
If we can move ourselves as much as possible to fill that gap with trust —even when it’s hard, even when we don’t want to — such would be wisest and best.
Respectfully…
AR