I am writing this from home ending week 8 of Covid-19 virus
-induced “sheltering in place” that began
on March 14. I have been dancing around about starting a post, probably due
to shell shock or perhaps, as my father used to say before beginning public
remarks: “ I am like the mosquito in a nudist colony- I know what I have to do,
but don’t know exactly where to start.”
I will start with this from the 17th century
French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal: “ I have discovered that
all human misfortune comes from this,
being unable to sit still in a room.” Right now, a large number of states are going
against medical advice and relaxing lockdown guidelines so, in the case of
Georgia, people can go back to gyms, tattoo parlors and hair salons. There the
pent up desire to get out of the house, to not sit still as it were, prevails despite
experts’ concerns that such moves will enable virus spread. Americans, it seems to me, are largely an
impatient society and one that favors instant gratification.
The Lt. Governor of Texas, one Dan Patrick (R) called for
the re-opening of the country with this: “there are more important things than
living” e.g. the economy. He joins Trump in tone deaf and misleading statements
about the current deadly crisis.
The effects of the pandemic in the country, even at a relatively
early stage, are catastrophic. To date over 80,000 have died, millions put out
of work, businesses ruined and peoples’ retirement savings in the stock market
savaged. An hour a day watching the T V news tells the grim story. And when we
need a Churchill, a FDR or even a Reagan to lead and encourage us in a crisis,
what we have instead is a mentally deficient, clueless and feckless narcissist.
Our lives and society are upended. When I was a kid there
was a large blowup vinyl figure, called I think a Bop Bag, almost life size,
weighted at the base, so that when you
whacked it , it bounced right back . My hunch is that our nation, like that play
figure will, in time, bounce back, but like that figure, hit many times, it will
have lost some of its buoyancy.
I think nonprofits, of which I have written many times in
these posts, will play a big part in the recovery, although ironically many of
them may not survive, especially the smaller ones. The reasons for their importance have to do
with their missions and their human capacities.
The broad range of their missions, - health care, feeding
the hungry, soothing the soul through the arts, research, religion, education-
touched every aspect of our society when
it was healthy and will need to again as it recovers. As for their human resources, nonprofits have
traditionally been led and staffed by bright and, most importantly, resourceful
talent. In the best of times, although sometimes
unsure of the source of their next dollar, these organizations rose to their
missions’ calling. I hope you will think of the charities you love and favor
them with whatever you can spare nowadays. They will be needed to help fashion
the “new normal.”
I am going to stop now although I will, like so many others,
comment on our current and evolving situation in the future. This horrible
tragedy will inspire much work from writers, artists, musicians, politicians and
pundits. One theme is likely to be how the pandemic has laid bare the great
economic and social disparities in our nation. I live in a suburban (to DC)
neighborhood. Here, when outside, there are many walkers, children are learning
to ride two wheel bikes and their sheltered in parents are training newly
adopted dogs. But not many miles away families are lining up to get charity food
bank dinners.
I count myself lucky and hope you are too, and those whom
you love. So many are not so fortunate; let
us not forget them.
Comments on this and
other posts that may be seen in the archive to the left are welcome at:
gplatt63@gmail.com
