Aaaaaah, in the United States, we’re reopening? Right?
Everything is going right back to usual.
Go grocery shopping without a mask.
Book a cruise for your vacation.
Eat in restaurants.
Go see a movie in a theater.
We. Are. Baaaaaack!!
One of the delusions in the U.S. is this insistence on rugged individualism. Each person gets where they are on the merits of their own grit. They need not pay attention to what happens to other people if they are benefitting from their actions.
We owe nothing to anybody.
We need not help others. They haven’t done what they need to do to help themselves.
This underlying assumption about ourselves is what has gotten us in trouble during this global pandemic.
😷 I think masks are uncomfortable, so I won’t wear one.
😷 I don’t trust the government, so I won’t vaccinate.
😷 My actions only matter for my household.
😷 Keep the foreigners out because they bother me and are bringing disease.
And on it goes.
So, at a point where, perhaps, we could be making major progress as a national community against the SARS COVID-19 virus, we’re backtracking. An overwhelming number of hospitalizations and deaths are because of unvaccinated people.
But don’t take my word for it, the CDC has this data.
Further, the delta variant is easier to spread and causing profound problems for younger populations. And children under the age of 12 are not approved for vaccination yet.
Where am I heading with this?
This is a pandemic because it’s global. Getting out of this is not about ME or your city or your county, your state, or even your country. WE have to come together to eliminate this pandemic.
WE, as a global community, have to come together to eliminate this pandemic. There isn’t a country in the world that isn’t being assaulted (again) with this virus.
If people travel, we can spread this virus.
If people are unmasked, we can spread this virus.
If people refuse to vaccinate, we can spread this virus.
It’s been a long and painful year. We have many long and painful years ahead of us if we do not turn to each other with the discipline required to eradicate SARS COVID-19. I imagine a variant can come into creation that will defy our vaccines.
So, I ask you to do the following.
👂🏾 Connect with the people you know who are all about ME.
👂🏾 Listen to their reasons for not complying with masks or vaccination.
👂🏾 Talk to them.
👂🏾 Sort out what are the things that motivate them and see if you can deliver sense to them on that delivery system.
Having schools open depends on this.
Making sure that the immunocompromised don’t needlessly die depends on this.
Making sure that the global south doesn’t get one more wave of crap from the global north depends on this.
And if we can manage this, imagine what we can do for climate change! 😉
In solidarity!