Today's MOZEN: PATIENCE

Words and photos by F LoBuono

WHAT IS IT THAT PEOPLE DON'T GET????

The current health and subsequent economic crisis rocking America shouldn't be about politics (although this Administration's rhetoric has made it so). Despite the President's insistence, it is not some Democratic hoax designed to make Donald J. Trump look bad with the election a mere 6 months away. He does a fine job of that every time he opens his mouth or takes to Twitter.

And, even though anxiety over the economic impact of COVID-19
is real and understandable, don't lose sight of the reasons why it is an unfortunate burden we MUST find a way to bear. Be wary of wolves in sheep's clothing (and, armor) who, under the guise of some perverted sense of patriotism, claim the safety protocols instituted for the benefit of ALL are a plot to deprive us of our Constitutional rights and freedoms as individuals. In the case of Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death, the outcome will be the latter.

It should be about science, facts, common sense, life, and death.

If you do not trust the people who have dedicated their lives to understanding COVID-19 AND the data used to support their hypotheses, then you are not politically aware or skeptical. Rather, you are seriously uneducated, willfully ignorant, or dangerously misinformed.

And, the experts agree that we may not have seen the worst yet.

Virtually every new scientific, non-partisan study of the data* involving the spread of the the Coronavirus indicates that deaths from this disease will increase by 70% to approximately 3,000 deaths daily by June 1st.

The main reason given for the spike in numbers is expected to be from the relaxing of Social Distancing and other sanitary protocols that many States are implementing as they begin to re-open their economies. This reverses the trend of leveling numbers that were occurring while these States had the measures in place. Look, I get it. I wrote in this blog weeks ago that the economic impact of this scourge would be almost as painful as the health issues. 

And, NO ONE is unaffected.

My family certainly has been. I've been fortunate to work from home. But, it's just 3 days a week. So, my income has been virtually cut in half. And, my sister who was a top salesperson for 41 years with a major food supplier, was let go from her position - never to return. We certainly NEED and WANT to get back to work. But, we shouldn't be dying to do so, either!

But, we have to find a way.

If we lose patience now, we will have destroyed any positive momentum that we may have created. And, THAT means beginning ALL OVER AGAIN. It's like a 3:00 minute internet video that a friend sends you. You start the video and you are interested for the first minute or so. Then, you lose patience - you've got things to do, people to see, etc. So, you decide to fast forward to a near the end. But, the video needs to buffer so now, it won't play at all. The only way to see it is to shut it down and START ALL OVER AGAIN. Now, you've wasted ALL of the time and then some that you thought you were saving. And, you have nothing to show for your efforts: no time saved and no video viewed.

If you had only been a bit more patient.

And, so it is here and now. Despite the pressure to get back to normal (if that still even exists), if we relent we will have gained little and lost everything. This race is not a sprint but more of a marathon. If we set the pace too quickly, we will falter at the end and, perhaps, not even finish the race. . . 

*https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/04/us/coronavirus-live-updates.html