No Sacrifice for The Greater Good
I live in California where Convid19 is out of control.
Why? This is not rocket science.
The “All for One and One for All” is a lost practice amongst many Americans. They have forgotten history and have embraced: “It’s all about me.”
As soon as the warm weather hit I noticed forgetfulness striking me — I’d forget to put on my mask as I headed towards an enclosed peopled structure and had to turn-back to my car to put it on.
The Beach
A friend said she would come by and drive us out to the beach. This was a Saturday. She remarked that the roads and the beaches were as crowded as on a “normal” Memorial Day weekend. True.
Social distancing and mask wearing was not being observed on the beach. In one place out of the six places we drove by social distancing was observed but not consistent mask wearing.
“Were they just craving contact with others after a long week of practicing social distancing?” my friend wondered aloud.
Russian Roulette or lemmings to the sea, I remarked. (a lemming is a rodent — but they do not commit mass suicide — but they do jump off cliffs to avoid over population and swim to another location. Nevertheless, the misconception persists and it is an apt metaphor with some caveats for Convid19. The virus being spread by people at the beach — throwing away science for some immediate gratification.
These Californians and many other Americans that have been and continue to defy the science of the spread of Covid19 — they just don’t have good impulse control. They seem oblivious that they live in community with others and don’t have any idea about sacrifice for the sake of the greater good.
Sacrifice is a practice not observed by Many
My mom and her family lived frugally during the Great Depression and while my father and his family were well off they still knew the practices of sacrifice for the greater good. Where I was raised mainly in New England (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine), my people knew the value of living close to the bone and sacrificing for the greater good. Many of you (not necessarily from New England) who are reading this already know what I’m writing about. And given the dire circumstances of being poor and /or suffering unemployment and evictions living “close to the bone” is an absolute necessity.
Many Americans that survived the Great Depression and supported the war effort against the spread of the Nazis and the Imperial Japanese (WWII) came to know the virtues of sacrifice for the greater good. This virtue has been lost by people who congregate at the beaches, clubs and parties who do not care or deny the greater good. And the privileged background of our current President accentuates the value of “Me first” and everyone else — who cares. There is no sacrifice for the greater good amongst the “Me First” Groups.
As long as the greater good is continually ignored by all elected officials on both sides of the aisle we will be subjected to Covid19 and the oppression by the powerful. This is an old story. Only now it’s killing us and collapsing government by and for the people, as in ALL THE PEOPLE not just the rich.
[Many of us — knowing the first wave was not completed did not join the rush to open up. I have been limiting my travel to the grocery store x1 week and the bank x1 per month. I have been fortunate because I have been working from home since 2007.]
