COVID Chaos, CoronaVirus Craziness, Mask Mentality, Masking Madness, Pandemic v. Pan Dulce, Quarantine Quips… these were just a few titles I considered for this latest installment of my very hit-and-miss blog.
Our country has never been more pressed and perplexed, at lease not in recent memory. But as challenging as this has been, it is closer to a national setback or inconvenience, not quite a crisis in our cultural bubble. Sure, I’m one of the first to complain about wearing a mask, bumping into plexiglass dividers, losing business at events, and having an increased workload with less pay. But let’s keep this entire experience in perspective.
While we see signs for increased hand washing, there are millions of people around the globe who have little or no access to clean water. While we observe businesses filing bankruptcy and the impact to our economy, we are still one of the wealthiest countries in the world. While we see unprecedented unemployment, most have access to resources and support to carry them through. And while many of us stocked up on a year’s worth of toilet paper and hand sanitizer, there are tens of thousands of families around the world who do not have enough food to eat on any given day. I could go on and on.
Are we so self-absorbed that we have lost perspective about the consequences of this pandemic? Imagine all our difficulties, setbacks and challenges in a society that is desperately poor and just barely surviving as it is. Now that would qualify as a crisis.
Whether you agree with the threat of COVID-19 or not, this pandemic has certainly shown our resilience, creativity, and determination as a society. I only wish we’d apply these same positive attributes to fixing our country’s deeply painful division over race relations, tackling mental illness, and the way we make all things political. At this point, I’d prefer to experience COVID than the nausea I feel reading social media and daily news.
Pressed & Perplexed 
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