by H. S. Brett<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flattening the curve. Social distancing. Coronavirus. Covid-19. These phrases and words are brand new to our collective lexicon. Three months ago, this \u201ccoronavirus\u201d had suddenly become an epidemic in Wuhan (another word most of us had never heard of), China. I remember watching news reports of the quick construction of coronavirus hospitals in 10-12 days in late January because the virus was rapidly killing thousands of people half a world away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like millions\u2014perhaps billions\u2014of others worldwide, the past few weeks I\u2019ve lain awake at night, worried that my beloved husband who lay sleeping beside me, with his myriad of preexisting conditions, might succumb to this scourge. I\u2019ve worried that my husband might be unknowingly spending the last weeks of his life sleeping beside me, that in a day or a week or two weeks\u2019 time he would get the dreaded symptoms and I\u2019d rush him to the nearest ER. Or that I\u2019d get a phone call from a frantic family member or friend telling me a beloved is in the ICU, that \u201cit doesn\u2019t look good.\u201d I\u2019ve worried about my sisters, my brother, all in their mid-sixties, all with their own health issues. I\u2019ve worried about my friends, their families. And of course, I\u2019ve worried about myself. I\u2019ve had a pacemaker since 2012, and like a lot of Americans, I don\u2019t eat right, don\u2019t exercise like I should. I\u2019m fifty-seven and like many others, I\u2019m vulnerable. In many ways, we\u2019re all vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Friends, what has become of us? Who are our leaders? Shouldn\u2019t they have known\u2014as weeks became months and thousands died and the virus rampaged into South Korea and the Middle East, then across Europe and beyond and throughout the United States–that something much more sinister than a horror flick or Stephen King novel had erupted in Wuhan? It\u2019s hard to believe they were as caught off-guard by Covid-19\u2019s destruction as they claim they were. If they didn\u2019t know, why not? Why would they trust the communist government of China to accurately report on the virus\u2019s outbreak, its deadly effects? And<\/p>\n\n\n\n
after recent pandemics of MRSA, SARS, H1N1, and Ebola\u2014why hadn\u2019t they adequately prepared for another one, just in case? How could they have been so blindsided, so lacking in forethought, PPEs (another new term those of us not in the medical field never knew until recently)? And were they really blindsided by this pandemic, or did they simply delay their responses due to political and economic reasons? Is this the best they could have done to protect the 2,256,844 (and counting) infected worldwide, the 154,350 (and counting) across the globe who\u2019ve perished due to coronavirus? How could this \u201cinvisible enemy\u201d cross continents and oceans, ravaging the vulnerable everywhere in just three months\u2019 time when our leaders are elected to protect us?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Friends, we must fight back as best we can, with what we can. Of course, we can donate money to charities and masks to hospitals, make phone calls to elderly folks who belong to our houses of worship to see if they need anything. We can utilize our words in their highest form, through prayer: \u201cDear God, Protect us all. Heal the sick. Comfort the bereaved. Bless the souls of the deceased.\u201d It\u2019s what a lot of us are doing these days: sharing our funds, our supplies, our prayers, our words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Undoubtedly, it\u2019s a scary time, and for many of the vulnerable, a lonely time. Unless we\u2019re centenarians, we\u2019ve never lived through anything like this. We wonder when we\u2019ll return to \u201cnormal,\u201d or if we ever will. It\u2019s not the \u201cnew normal\u201d we\u2019re living in now, it\u2019s the \u201cnew abnormal.\u201d Nothing\u2019s normal about Covid-19 and its deadly repercussions. Nothing\u2019s normal about the 22 million in the US alone who just five weeks ago enjoyed a robust economy and are suddenly unemployed, many of whom are joining thousands on food lines for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But we have words and a new lexicon. We have our emotions. If you\u2019re outraged that our \u201cleaders\u201d have not protected us as you feel they should have, sooner than they did, let them know. Write to your politicians. Send letters to your newspapers. Whether you\u2019re a published author or a private diarist, share your feelings, your fears, your frustration, your anger. When we share our stories, we share our humanity. Across continents, oceans, borders, and beliefs, we\u2019ve all got stories to tell, minds and hearts that are undoubtedly full of words spilling over, needing to be shared. Friends, feel free to share them here. Share them everywhere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by H. S. Brett Flattening the curve. Social distancing. Coronavirus. Covid-19. These phrases and words are brand new to our collective lexicon. Three months ago, this \u201ccoronavirus\u201d had suddenly become an epidemic in Wuhan (another word most of us had never heard of), China. I remember watching news reports of the quick construction of coronavirus … <\/p>\n