It’s time to accept that it’s too late to convince some Americans to adopt the basic protocols that have been proven to work around the world to manage the spread of COVID-19. The window of opportunity to prevent overloading our healthcare system is closing, and the exponential increase of unnecessary deaths caused by the disease appears to be inevitable. The time has come for a new strategy.
Remember and Survive
We have fought for so long against those who refuse to make any sacrifice to manage the spread of the disease. This fight has been exhausting, and it’s taking a toll not only physically, but psychologically and philosophically as well. For many of us it has turned us into people we barely recognize, even willing to compromise who we are in order to get people to take the steps necessary to manage the disease.
If we forget who we are, what purpose is there in surviving? We must not only preserve our lives through this pandemic, but also our minds and our values as well. If not, what’s left of our humanity to preserve? We must emerge from the other side of this with our whole selves intact.
So now is the time to stop fighting and remember who we are. We must preserve this in indelible forms, through art, through writing, through any means at our disposal.
We must also preserve it through our actions, and this is where the most dramatic changes in my own behavior must occur.
I will no longer fight with people over taking responsibility for protecting the safety of others. Instead, I will direct all my energies into helping other people who want help, and disengage from all others completely.
_The only thing that reliably changes the minds of these Americans who refuse to adopt social distancing is being directly impacted by the disease, through becoming infected themselves or by the infection of a loved one. If this is the case, what use is there in fighting with these people? I propose that there is none. _
Remembering who we are, and realizing this through physical manifestations as well as our actions lays the foundation for our survival. We will need to emerge from the other side of this pandemic with our whole selves intact if there is to be any chance of rebuilding the world in a way that can protect future generations from making the same mistakes that led us here in the first place.
Now is the time to lay down the sword channel your energies into caring for yourself and those you love, sharing any excess capacity you have with others who seek your help and let nature take care of the rest.