I was reading the news this morning
before I went off for three appointments. I was saddened(but not
surprised) by the vitriol pouring from comments about wearing masks
in public. Weak weird answers were posted by some using the Bible and
then there was just the usual drivel.
Perhaps, our over stressed and
overstretched healthcare workers could add a couple of questions when
someone comes in with COVID symptoms. The first would be, “Have you
exercised your 'right' to go around without a mask around people and
in stores?” If the answer is an “honest” “yes!”which it
most likely won't be, then the triage person could say, “Well, it
just the flu! It can't be COVID-19 because that doesn't exist—right?”
Another triage route could be, “Well, we are seeing a lot of people
who think they have this COVID-19 thing, but since it is not real,
you are probably mentally ill. Please wait until we get our on-call
psychiatrist to give you an exam. Be aware, he, or she will be
wearing a mask.”
If the selfish, assertive, demanding,
table pounding folks who somehow believe their “rights” have been
curtailed because of a pandemic, perhaps it is time to let them go to
the front of the line—you know the line: exposure to highly
contagious disease, health wrecking bodily damage, and possibly
death.
These days are unlike any other time in
my life. History tells us of plagues and pandemics and the lethally
of such diseases, but I have not seen that in my lifetime. I was born
on the cusp of the polio epidemic and was vaccinated as soon as it
was available. I remember television black and white pictures of iron
lungs and children in them. It was not pretty.
So, we are at a crisis point in this
nation. The crisis point is simply our lack of compassion and concern
for others. Somehow it is more important we get to fully execise our
“rights” without restrictions no matter how much that behavior
may complicate this disease, its transmission and its impact of
select high risk vulnerable groups. We frankly don't care. Somehow
wearing a mask in consideration for the safety of others, is an
affront to our autonomy, our rights, our freedoms as true red
blooded Americans(Ain't no body gonna tell me what I can and can't
do).
It is sad our culture has come to that.
It is beyond sad, we have allowed the ignorant voices of an maddening
crowd to put us all in danger and for longer than necessary.
Who are we hurting when we only think
of our personal rights? Let me mention a few. First this nation is a
nation of small business owners. Years ago, my father was one and
although there are many multibillion dollar corporations, America is
still a nation of small business owners. The longer this pandemic is
out of control, the more of those we lose. There are folks all around
us who are medically fragile, some of which are children. The longer
this virus runs out of control, the more of these folks will be at
risk. If you have read anything, it is an ugly, ugly virus. It
attacks all the systems of the body not just the lungs. Think about
the teachers who stand before your children each day and attempt to
teach them, preparing them for a more hopeful future. Do you really
want to put them at more risk? Is it really important that you
exercise that right to not wear a mask? How about the children in the
classroom? Do you really want to be implicated in the unnecessary
death of a child? Can you imagine the devastation of parents who must
bury a child because of the carelessness of others. I can speak to
that both experientially and pastorally. There is nothing quite like
burying your child.
What about your family physician, or
the specialists you turn to. How about the nurses who staff the
hospitals and clinics where you go at a time of medical need or
crisis. Are their lives worth less than your right to go without a
mask in public? Really! Do you really think so little of another
human life?
You see, in my opinion, America was
great once, because it offered hope and opportunity to all who could
get here—by whatever means. It was great once because it attempted
to aspire to great freedoms for all. Each generation has had to push
those freedoms further to more fully realize what it means to be “the
land of the free and the home of the brave.” It was great once when
no matter where the catastrophe, or the magnitude of the devastation,
America was one of the first on the scene. It was the embodiment of
who we believe we are. We had an expansive view of “our neighbor.”
It was great once attempting to embody the influence of a vibrant
church and faith in order to bless the world with the Gospel of
peace.
So, I struggle in these days to
understand how, with a daily, dangerous spike of COVID-19 cases in
our state, that somehow, we can regard our neighbor with so little
compassion but so much disdain, we would refuse to do our part in
protecting ourselves and others.
This is not my America. And frankly,
this is not the mark of “greatness.”
Wash your hands, wear your mask for
others, mind the gap and be kind
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