The Man in the Mirror

 

 

                                 

It's hard to really grasp this "new normal" we are living in but I know my perception of many things has altered dramatically.  I wonder if we'll ever see things the same after this or if the entire world will be permanently altered.  I know I feel uncomfortable any time I see people without masks.  My "personal space" is now greater than 6 feet and I avert my head instead of making eye contact with strangers.  I am automatically enraged when I see people who are not taking this seriously.

 I also am totally befuddled by arch conservatives that suddenly think it's good to give free food, medicine and medical care for everyone.  How can that possibly be ok now when it wasn't before?  Yes, the numbers of people involved in this crisis is rising daily, but there are people who have been living with personal crises for years (e.g., all the patients I see every day) and no one is in a rush to help them with anything.  In fact, to get help with anything is a bureaucratic nightmare and the length of time it takes is all too often longer than their life span. 

So far I had one blow up at work and one in the grocery store.  It's probably better for my blood pressure if I do stay home.  Is anger better than fear?  Interestingly, so many of my patients are not at all afraid.  Is it lack of awareness or just another day in the life of someone whose life has been on the edge for a very long time.  Maybe some combination of the two.

The grocery store incident heightened my awareness of people whose lives are put on the line just to earn their minimum wage or slightly higher salaries.  Even bonuses aren't going to matter in the long run if they are being exposed to this virus every day.  I was told by the grocery manager that "masks are optional"; to me that is a blatant disregard for the health of others.  The biggest fear should not be your personal risk, but the risk at which you are placing others.  Exposure to COVID-19 is like dropping a pebble into water and watching the increasing circle and ripples that it causes. 

We are seeing, first hand, what happens in a greed-center, corporate government.  We have a "leader" who is so narcissistic that when he looks at the world in front of him he only sees a mirror.  He doesn't need a mask because he is impervious to the needs of others.  He must also be a hypnotist because he convinces others that he cares and they completely ignore that he contradicts himself from one sentence to the next.  Surely anyone who is not in a trance would see that?

MAGA is over.  We are a nation sinking into third world status(just ask Norway).  The longer the crisis continues the less likely we can predict what our country will look like on the other side.  The president may not wake up like Scrooge after his visitations and be changed, but some of us may see an opportunity to do better.