The longer this virus goes on, the more I am reminded of Don Henley’s 1982 song “Dirty Laundry.”
A friend and his wife declined an invitation to come over for a glass of wine (OK, maybe a bottle) on the back porch last night. They were concerned about being with their daughter the next day, who is immuno-suppressed. I get it.
It’s funny. We are going back to work in the office on Monday. There are only 3 of us in 1,500 square feet, so we will have no trouble distancing. After 2 months as shut-ins, we feel like we are being adventurous, but very, very careful.
We have a few friends who have been doing mask-less socializing for weeks. No problems yet, but Texas had its highest new COVID infection and death toll yesterday. I know that the claim of “it’s all bullshit” is all bullshit, but we have to figure out the new normal.
This isn’t going away in another month or two, and those of us who can earn a living remotely can’t just become a nation of well-off hermits, depending on a separate class of citizens to feed us and provide our goods.
Morlocks and Eloi
I have a number of clients who own essential industries. They never stopped going to work in fully staffed operations every single day. No issues with any of them, yet. Those of us who are lucky enough to maintain an income and work remotely marvel at those who act as if nothing is wrong. In some cases we think it’s courageous. In others…not so much.
My Morlocks and Eloi blog on Awake at 2 o’clock back on April 3 predicted this. That was six weeks ago, when we had about 1,415,000 fewer cases, we were just beginning to see Shelter in Place orders, no PPP applications had yet been submitted, and masks were widely discounted as ineffective by the CDC.
The rumor that they were waiting for health care workers to be supplied first seems to have some veracity. It’s getting tougher to sneeze <GRIN> at some conspiracy theories when others are apparently true.
So my wife and I will mask anytime we are outside of our home, car or office. We will eat in restaurants that socially distance and use masks, or if they all stop using masks, we will have to decide between not eating out and limiting ourselves to places that will at least let us wear masks. We will socialize carefully with one or two people at a time, and attend no events (that hurts for us!) It is our choice.
Dirty Laundry
My biggest disappointment is that where things like this have historically pulled Americans together, we have this time been driven further apart. How can the crisis of the century become so politicized? We all acknowledge that it is highly contagious, and deadly to at-risk folks.
I’ve heard arguments about severity, pre-existing conditions, and socio-economic factors. No one, however, disagrees that it spreads like wildfire and kills old people.
Damned media, who thrive on causing people to get angry. Tell Alexa to play Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry.” The coldness of the lines. The bubble-headed bleach blond with the gleam in her eye. Is the head dead yet? The boys in the newsroom have a running bet. Get the widow on the set.
Most importantly, the chorus – “Kick ’em when they’re up, Kick ’em when they’re down.”
CNN decries a feckless president, and Neanderthals who want to infect your world and kill Gramma. Fox trumpets (pun intended) the liberal plot to deprive us all of our American lifestyle and our cherished liberties. No mercy. No discussion of what’s going right. Just kick the other guys relentlessly.
Those who are either out of work, fascinated by slow-motion train wrecks, or simply really worried are staying home and digesting this stuff all day long.
New Normal – Accepting Individual Rights
Part of the new normal has to involve turning off the television. We need to spread an awareness that these are not thought leaders or investigative journalists. They are pitchmen preaching to the choir from carefully censored scripts. They make millions by stirring things up, never from calming them down.
I’m not seeking to be trolled, but I’d welcome someone who could tell me the last time you saw a “news” show that said, “We should all calm down, and learn to live with folks who have different opinions than we do. It’s OK to have a range of opinions.”
No chance. WE are crusaders, and THEY are infidels. There is no advertising money in cooperation and compromise.
The best I can do as an individual is to accept what everyone else chooses, as long as it doesn’t impinge on my freedom to do what I want. You can do the same. Please.