Dad Writes
  • Home | Dad Writes
  • What's Your Story?
  • Fun is Good!
  • Blog
  • Subscribe

CV Diary, Part Three: It's not my life I'm saving here

3/22/2020

11 Comments

 
Picture
A friend of mine insisted several few days ago that she would not be getting the coronavirus. She was careful and she didn’t know any people who had been to China, plus a few other vague reasons, but the gist of it was that this doesn’t happen to people like her. 
 
She’s wrong, of course. Viruses, like money, don’t care who holds them or what they believe. Even if we wash our hands 20 times per day, we could still end up among the statistics three weeks hence. 
 
More relevant, this whole thing isn’t about my friend, or about me. Neither of us is likely to die from coronavirus, but we aren’t taking precautions for ourselves.

​The point of slowing a disease is to protect the most vulnerable, including people we know and millions we will never meet. We demonstrate our own humanity, or decency, by accepting some inconvenience on behalf of others.
 
Unfortunately, we’ve been here before. When AIDS began its relentless journey across the globe in the 1980s, it was easy for people to say it was no big deal, because they weren’t gay and they didn’t need a transfusion, and, and, and...
 
Of course, it turned out that everyone had a gay friend or a gay relative or a gay coworker, whether they lived in a large city or a rural town. More than 650,000 Americans have died from that scourge, which means more than 60 million people in the United States knew an AIDS victim personally.
 
At first, though, it was simple and comforting to say, “It’s not about me.” When our humanity and compassion were put to the test, we flunked.
 
A few months into the newest pandemic, we’re not doing much better. Online and IRL, the conversation is heavily political, the purveyors of conspiracy theories are making a ton of money from click bait, and the missing guest, again, is compassion for the victims.
 
Every day, I get another email or text or shared post about the number of people who die from seasonal flu or guns or obesity or smoking. The numbers from the other causes are larger, at least so far, which somehow suggests the current virus is no big deal.
 
It is a big deal, though, to the people who succumb and to their survivors. If nothing else, the rest of us could consider them for a moment as something more than a talking point. Maybe I am overly sensitive because I have many friends in the at-risk segment of the population, or maybe I’m recognizing that mankind is my business.
 
Perhaps all the event cancellations will work to limit the virus’s impact in the United States. Perhaps the federal government will catch up from its slow response to the pandemic. Perhaps the virus will be conquered when another 50 million Americans finally agree to wash their damned hands.
 
Whatever the case, we might want to consider our own vulnerability in newly traveled territory. It’s much easier to be compassionate if we acknowledge that we, too, might be among the victims. Even if we aren’t the victims, though, a bit of human decency goes a long way.
 
 
If you’ve ever considered subscribing, and even if you haven’t, today would be a good day to join our merry band of fans by clicking here.
 

 
 
 
 
 


11 Comments
Bruce Bloom
3/22/2020 10:27:11 am

Thanks, Michael. Poignant perspective. Totally agree.

Reply
Dad Writes
3/22/2020 12:28:06 pm

Thanks. Please share the thought with your friends who don't realize how much good they are doing by staying home.

Reply
DIANE NEWMAN
3/22/2020 10:37:41 am

I couldn’t agree more Michael!

Reply
Dad Writes
3/22/2020 12:28:59 pm

Thanks much. Take care and stay at least six feet away from Allan.

Reply
STEVEN THOMAS
3/22/2020 11:09:02 am

How about some brevity...getting hammered everywhere with the real dire consequences.

Maybe highlight some unintended consequences:
- projected number one name of babies being born 9 months from now...Covey, Covi, CD, Corona (latino)
- Pampers stock goes up 29% 9 months from now
- internet search for ED natural home remedy products goes through the roof now.
- download of Cat Stevens Cat's in the Cradle song goes down to an all-time low.
Battery sales go up to an all-time high (people are starting to cook at home that have no idea how to cook and smoke detectors are getting pushed to the limits)

Reply
Dad Writes
3/22/2020 12:32:27 pm

Thanks for the fearless forecasts. So what was it that happened before every baby in America was named Aidan/Jayden/Braedon/Hayden????

Reply
Charles Vogl
3/22/2020 11:14:09 am

Michael, important point to get out there! Well written, as always!

Reply
Dad Writes
3/22/2020 12:33:22 pm

Thanks. Please share with any friends who wonder why they're being part of our cloistered community.

Reply
Carl Rosenbaum
3/22/2020 11:53:32 am

Thanks Michael, perhaps we will come out of this with a greater respect for human decency. As to hand washing, so basic, one of the first things our mothers taught us yet so many need to be reminded.
Love your thoughts and of course you

Reply
Dad Writes
3/22/2020 12:34:04 pm

Thanks. After this is over, I swear I will never wash my hands again.

Reply
David Brimm
3/23/2020 11:47:38 am

Michael: Your comparison to AIDS is apt and well done. Thanks.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Who writes this stuff?

    Dadwrites oozes from the warped mind of Michael Rosenbaum, an award-winning author who spends most of his time these days as a start-up business mentor, book coach, photographer and, mostly, a grandfather. All views are his alone, largely due to the fact that he can’t find anyone who agrees with him. 

    Archives

    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018

    Categories

    All
    Aging Gracelessly
    Coronavirus
    Dadstuff
    Holidays
    Humorish
    Lessons Learned
    Life=Biz=Life=Biz
    Stories From Life
    Why Is That?

    RSS Feed

Website by RyTech, LLC
  • Home | Dad Writes
  • What's Your Story?
  • Fun is Good!
  • Blog
  • Subscribe