Right now. < That’s when we need to get a grip.
If we wait… or hesitate… it’ll be too little too late.
If you read my previous post about the Coronavirus pandemic (Hi, Dad!) you know my opinion that PANIC!!! is not helpful… or healthy.
Not at all. But in the days since, I’ve seen another cultural trend emerging. And it goes like this:
Me first.
(Actually, I suppose that isn’t really a trend. It’s been the norm all along. It just hasn’t been quite as obvious.)
We’re all guilty of it sometimes. It’s hard-wired into us, self-preservation, survival-of-the-fittest and all that. But we don’t have to live by instinct.
We can choose instead to live for the common good. Because I believe that’s instilled in us too.
By someone who embodies goodness.
God.
(Believe it or not, you bear a striking resemblance. See?)
Frankly, I’m a little stunned by the pushing and shoving and hoarding and hysteria. (Toilet paper? Can someone please explain this to me… Does panic cause diarrhea?)
And then there’s the devil-may-care, I’m-not-scared, social-distancing rebels. Who flip the bird at scientists and medical experts… and refuse to make even the slightest adjustments to their own plans for the greater good.
Seriously?
Stop.
Because here’s the thing. All these precautions and protocols and postponements might turn out to be an overreaction…
Or they might keep people alive who otherwise would have succumbed.
See if you’re pro-life, then you ought to be advocating for all lives. The very young/very old, rich/poor, healthy/strong/disabled/diseased, white/brown/black, housed/homeless, conservative/liberal/moderate, law-abiding citizen/convicted criminal, straight/LGBTQ, Christian/Jew/Muslim/Buddhist/Hindu/Wiccan/atheist/Universalist/secular humanist, homegrown American/refugee/undocumented worker, people you adore/people who make your blood boil…
You get the idea.
Now would be a great time for us to start taking care of each other.
It’s great if you’re not afraid of COVID-19 (because living in fear is a killer too), but if you contract it – or asymptomatically carry it – and then share it… it could turn out that your nonchalance is deadly.
To someone’s grandmother or godfather or favorite aunt. To a beloved teacher or friendly cashier or war hero.
Let’s honor them by protecting them.
There’s a great line at the end of the movie A Few Good Men, when a dishonorably discharged Marine makes the realization that – in following orders – he actually failed to do his job.
We were supposed to fight for those who couldn’t fight for themselves.
It’s not just our military or medical professionals that ought to be charged with the difficult task of fighting for the vulnerable. It’s all of us.
…If you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front… Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. ~ Philippians 2:1b-4 (The Message)
We’ve all read uplifting/inspiring/amazing stories about real-life heroes. Now’s the chance to be one.
