COVID-19: Concerns, Complaints, Leadership, Etc.

 

Months into the COVID-19 pandemic things have only seemingly gotten tighter. It does seem that all the closures and mask wearing has not really helped numbers to go down. I sometimes wonder that a lot of the news reporting and orders are based on local politics, but there are efforts in places like China, Italy, and Europe that makes the pandemic seem more than local ideology.

One of the things that is most appalling in all of this is the amount of resistance and lack of cooperation. I think that cooperation is a way of allying yourself with leadership and ideology, though some people believe that resistance is always necessary as a way of balance. But considering most of the resistance it is mostly about individual needs and wants. The complaints are not in regard to the greater good of society, but rather for someone else’s personal concerns. Concerns such as kids being dropped at school, and dining in restaurants and crowded bars. Though I am not a parent I do feel that, if I were, I would want to be present. What about being there through the tough times? Morally supportive? But being resilient and morally supportive may not be instinctive, instead it may be a matter of culture.

Kamala Harris said that America is crying out for leadership, and I am glad to hear that someone other than myself realizes this. But does that mean that there are no leaders? I think (viable) leaders are in short supply, but certainly not non-existent. The effort to mitigate a crisis could be better and include some ways of managing finances and personal resources. Of course, some people can’t spend and shop as much as they normally do, but what about developing some crisis skills and being a light, a gem, a blessing, etc., during trying times. I was discarded during the last recession and treated like dirt, only to find myself being stalked, imitated, envied, etc. Some would remind us that if you have to struggle to make ends meet, then you probably are not of the “silver spoon” crowd.

In all of this uncertainty and confusion and worry and doubt and panic and boredom, I’m not really seeing a lot of high-mindedness. That is, looking at the bright side of things and developing skills to persevere and consider what one could do to improve upon current modes and old ways. Long before the pandemic young couples have been going “Dutch” for economic reasons. Some people who are unemployed are receiving a weekly stipend of $600.00 and feel that it should continue indefinitely. But I think that aside from being help that stipend is merely a taste for people who never have enough money from low-paying, non-professional work. An article in a local publication actually uses the phrase “jobs erased.” While jobs may be lost as part of a pandemic or economic crisis, some say those jobs going away means that people can’t wait tables forever and have to start seeking or building better opportunities and becoming leaders. But nobody really builds in America, and everybody pays rent.

In all of this there is the continuing outrage of all the things that Donald Trump has tried/ is trying to dismantle. But a lot of those things are already taken for granted. When there was the public announcement of moving from isolation to mitigation, I kinda knew that would be a problem. What does mitigation look like on a large scale? It is great to stand and speak intelligently for made-for-TV speeches, but intelligence only reaches so many people. With intelligence come responsibility. Mitigation is really one of those things of “What can you do for your country?” whatever country that is. Hence the bucking. Hopefully we see high-mindedness improvised in times when lowliness is most prevalent.