Let’s Respect Each Other
As we begin to return to the new “normal,” I’m excited to see events being scheduled, businesses operating at more normal levels and students moving toward a resumed level of normalcy in the classroom. There are some everlasting lessons we will learn from this pandemic, and hopefully we are not like Brazil and have to learn these lessons again sooner than later. I think for many people, this is a wake up call on basic health and hygiene practices as many of us take washing our hands and covering our coughs a little more seriously now.
I think more than anything, we should have and need to continue to learn empath and respect for others. It was very clear in not just our community, but our country that we are more concerned about ourselves than the people around us that our actions affect. If you look at a Japan or South Korea or a society that is based on respecting others, their case counts are much lower due to the fact that it didn’t take a pandemic for them to begin respecting their neighbors by wearing masks in public when they were sick. They don’t do this to protect themselves, but they do if for the opposite reason, to protect those who are around them.
Now lets also be realistic about the Southern American’s attitude about “you can’t tell me what to do.” It could be raining gold coins and you could tell people that if they wear a mask, they could keep as many as they please. About 50% f the people would call it a conspiracy and still refuse to wear a mask. Some cultures are just “wired” differently to respect others first. I hope our community learns about putting the needs of others first while still living their life in a safe way. I think the message has been clear for 30 years, but this last year made it a little more emphatic. Wash your hands and don’t cough or spit on your neighbor. A quite simple concept until someone in “authority” encourages you to do it, I suppose.