It started with a small outbreak in China in the middle of December and quickly grew to a crisis no one saw coming as it crossed continents and circled the globe at an unprecedented rate, crippling the economy and shuttering cities as people began to shelter in place.
There is a phrase in Don McLean's iconic tune "American Pie," which is a chronicle of the tortuous American decade of the 1960s which refers to the day the music died. We have all been there through tough times as a community. The actual line refers, believe it or not, to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the first of several shocking events that horrified our country.
There would be other moments: The resignation of Richard Nixon, the space shuttle tragedies, the perplexing and tragic MOVE confrontation in Philadelphia the day after Mother's Day in 1985, and of course, the attacks on 9/11.
In the news business we refer to them as "shared experiences." There are moments in our lives when we are all spellbound and almost frozen in time. They are those moments when all of us remember where we were at the exact moment when the event happened and what happened days, weeks and months afterwards, until things returned to normal and the world started spinning once again.
The current health threat is the ultimate shared experience.
We are all "in it."
This period of time will test our patience, our resilience, and the courage and wisdom of the people who lead us through it. There are a lot of politics going on in the world of government and there will be a time to assess shortcomings, but this is not the time to play the blame game.
We all have enough anxiety. In Colorado, we are blessed to have a governor, mayors and county officials who have shaped some clarity to our everyday lives.
On the federal level, we can all appreciate the candor and cautions of our new American hero in a crisis, Dr. Anthony Fauci. We can also admire the candor of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Mayor Bill de Blasio for showing such leadership during these trying times for America's largest city before it became the epicenter of the crisis, much like Michael Bloomberg did following the crisis that was 9/11. It amazed me how slowly we were as a nation to take action.
Finally, along with the severe health threat comes a daunting figure. American Payroll Association reported in January that 74 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. I understand. I have been there myself. Now, I live job to job because of my role as a free-lance writer.
From the vantage point of the average citizen, the questions are: what happens next? And what will life be like in the days, weeks and months ahead?
Because I sit alone in my apartment trying to practice social distancing, I have some time to contemplate the questions: what is next? What happened? and Where is the average citizen in all this?
I am also wondering if I will be able to purchase bottled water or toilet paper!
I listen to my neighbors stressing over their work situation, or what to do with their children now home from school for an indefinite period. But, I know, somehow, we will prevail, learn lessons, maybe develop a cure, and come together as a nation in the aftermath of the Coronavirus.
What is more concerning to me has been the seeming lack of caring, compassion, and civic responsibility that has spread in this country as much as the virus.
It has manifested itself at many levels in many ways over the past several weeks of the crisis. For example:
Where is our leadership (especially at the Federal level) for being ahead of this? In other words we hire (elect) our leaders to take care of things like this - period. I do not care who I should blame or hear anything about why it is not “my fault” - just fix it. Get the tests out there and provide the support the health system needs to cope. In addition, conveying some compassion and understanding along the way would not hurt.
Why do we always look for a scape goat, someone else to blame? I have heard: Do not go to the Chinese restaurants because “they” have the Coronavirus. Do you mean the American owners who live down the street? Or maybe you pass by someone who looks like a foreign national and others whisper (or just blurt it out) that these people should “go home.” Or, regardless of race, you happen to cough into your arm and people run from you or give you the dirtiest looks. Like you are the main problem.
Even in the grocery store I have witnessed crowds pushing, yelling and even scuffling over toilet paper or milk. I understand the need for staples for your family in a crisis, but is a 48-pack of toilet paper not good enough for a family of four for two weeks?
I even question our officials and health experts who promote the need for “social distancing!” Why not call it physical distancing? I think we have enough social distancing as it is. That term implies staying away from one another (especially if they might be different somehow). Yes, keep your physical distance and avoid large crowds, but do not isolate yourself so much that you simply do not care about others.
And many citizens talk about the need for being isolationists.
We simply cannot hide, close borders or look the other way when an epidemic starts on the other side of the world and within three weeks is on our doorsteps.
And finally, there are the naysayers. They maintain the official response is silly. It is just an overreaction. It is just the flu. It has been around before. They do not seem to care what health officials or government agencies tell them. Just look at Spring Break for college students in full swing despite the warnings!
And, I guess it is that last example that leads me back to my point about what happens next after this epidemic is under control.
Like the song from "High School Musical," we are all in this together, like it or not, rich or poor, Republican or Democrat, young or old, northerner or southerner, black or brown or white, down the street or around the world, and maybe, just maybe, that realization may become evident in the aftermath of this international pandemic.
Maybe it will help people recognize that we cannot do it alone. Citizens helping citizens is upon what this nation was founded. Maybe we have forgotten that. But is this concept of citizenship not what democratic government is all about? Coming together to help others? For a greater good.
When there is a fire, the fire department will be there, when the roads need to be repaired or the garbage needs to be thrown away the local government will handle that, when there is a foreign threat the military will protect us, or in our old age Social Security will keep us afloat and Medicare will provide us some help and health care.
Oh…and when there is a pandemic like the Coronavirus the CDC, municipal/county hospitals, State Division of Infectious Diseases, and local public health departments will save us. The point here is that we presume that. For our tax dollars, we expect that.
We tend to forget their day-to-day role and impact. But, in a crisis we expect government to help. That is what a fully-functional democratic society made up of citizens, and responsive to citizens is all about.
Let us not wait until the next epidemic or crisis to think about these things.
Keep this in mind in the days ahead and call your family members and friends. Those calls will provide comfort, life and some hope. Above all, take care of yourself, your loved ones and your neighbors!
And remember, right now, hope is a valuable commodity in our country.
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