Since retiring five years ago, I spend my days writing, putzing around, and watching too much TV. This routine hasn’t changed much since the pandemic hit.
However, there’s a sadness which pervades even the simplest of tasks these days, knowing that a mysterious, deadly virus is impacting so many lives and changing our interactions with each other.
Over a century ago, the Spanish flu ravished the planet and took away people of all ages. My mother’s family lost more than a dozen children, she and her two sisters the only survivors.
This happened after a devastating world war. When the worst appeared over with the flu, people congregated without protection, kicking off a second wave of the disease. Then…we had the Great Depression.
Yet, people kept up hope, got up every day and resumed their lives as best they could, and prevailed over long odds.
Today, most people are coping under these stressful circumstances impacting their lives and those close to them. People who die from Covid do not just fall asleep and not wake up. They suffer unimaginable pain, usually away from loved ones, supported by nurses, who make extraordinary sacrifice, and risk their personal safety to provide what comfort they can.
I’m sad for the dead and for those who survived them, myself included. Yet, I’m also sad for those whose skewed concept of liberty translates to ‘freedom at all costs.’ Janis Joplin sang ‘Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.’ That seems to be the mantra for folks who have been fed a mixture of beliefs that prevent empathy for those afflicted.
I’m sad that they feel this way, and I’m sad for those within breathing distance. Yet, I’m sure humans will cope in these trying times, and be here for another hundred years. Unfortunately, so will the next few generations of contrarians, willing to pursue their lifestyle to the detriment of everyone else. Let’s hope that man evolves enough to overcome this and live in the light of compassion with respect for those more vulnerable.
However, there’s a sadness which pervades even the simplest of tasks these days, knowing that a mysterious, deadly virus is impacting so many lives and changing our interactions with each other.
Over a century ago, the Spanish flu ravished the planet and took away people of all ages. My mother’s family lost more than a dozen children, she and her two sisters the only survivors.
This happened after a devastating world war. When the worst appeared over with the flu, people congregated without protection, kicking off a second wave of the disease. Then…we had the Great Depression.
Yet, people kept up hope, got up every day and resumed their lives as best they could, and prevailed over long odds.
Today, most people are coping under these stressful circumstances impacting their lives and those close to them. People who die from Covid do not just fall asleep and not wake up. They suffer unimaginable pain, usually away from loved ones, supported by nurses, who make extraordinary sacrifice, and risk their personal safety to provide what comfort they can.
I’m sad for the dead and for those who survived them, myself included. Yet, I’m also sad for those whose skewed concept of liberty translates to ‘freedom at all costs.’ Janis Joplin sang ‘Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.’ That seems to be the mantra for folks who have been fed a mixture of beliefs that prevent empathy for those afflicted.
I’m sad that they feel this way, and I’m sad for those within breathing distance. Yet, I’m sure humans will cope in these trying times, and be here for another hundred years. Unfortunately, so will the next few generations of contrarians, willing to pursue their lifestyle to the detriment of everyone else. Let’s hope that man evolves enough to overcome this and live in the light of compassion with respect for those more vulnerable.