The Boulder and the Snake

Even as the National Government, CDC, and the WHO urge people to stay home and take "social distancing" seriously, pictures continue to pop up on social media of "selfies" in crowded bars, throngs of partiers mulling around on Bourbon street, and "Social Distancing" parties. 

I continue to see posts questioning or outright dismissing the guidance that is being provided.  If I am honest, I will tell you these pictures and posts have been making it hard to stay in a place of calm. I have caught myself yelling at my Facebook feed more than once, "What are you thinking! Go home or at least stand six feet apart!  What part of 'Social distancing" do you not understand? At what point did you stop caring about your neighbors?" 

And after spending far too much time letting anger take the lead, I finally heard an inner voice whisper, “Judge not, lest ye be judged." (Matthew 7:1)

And then I had to ask myself, did I really believe in my heart that all of these people were either self involved or arrogant? And the answer was a quick "No." When I finally put down my frustration, and took some time to step back from judgment, this is where I landed. 

With the advent of 'Fake News," the truth has become subject to interpretation. If you don’t agree with the “facts” in front of you, all you have to is google to find a different set - a set that supports your view and validates your position. Parallel facts have led to an unfortunate reality in our country where "the truth" is no longer an absolute. In a crisis, pressured people are going to fall on the side of the "truth" that relieves their pressure.

I have one daughter with neurological and endocrine issues that land her in a 'high risk" category. I have another daughter with epilepsy who is in her ninth month of pregnancy. I have parents and loved ones over 65. I myself have an Immune Deficiency ( IGA Deficiency). I have multiple members in my extended family who suffer from asthma. I am super aware of the potential impacts of any one of us/them coming down with this virus. I am also super aware that even if none of us come down with the virus, if everyone else does, medical care will not be available to support the other daily complications that arise for daughter or loved ones in the high risk group. My pressures make me highly sensitive to the need for "social distancing". 

As another point of view, my daughters' generation are twenty and thirty somethings. At that age there is a feeling of invincibility until proven otherwise. RIght now, their feeling of invicibility has been validated when the news acknoweldges that they are low risk for much more than a bad cold. They, however, are also far more susceptible to the potential for very real financial harm from the closures looming in their future. They typically don't have savings, are more likely to be the group still working jobs without benefits and much more more likely to be living paycheck to paycheck. Their pressure is economic. 

While I am sure there are other pressures that are coming to play in how all of us view the current situation, the two biggest concerns are generally health concerns and economic concerns.  

As I was pondering the different views, I recalled a relationship meme that struck me several years ago. A woman is hanging from a cliff. Directly across from her is a snake in a crevice that has already struck her once and is threatening to strike again. Above her is a man holding on to her hand wanting to pull her to safety, but he has a heavy, boulder crushing his back.

The woman is frustrated at the man because he is not pulling her up faster. She can’t, however,  see the boulder on his back. The man is frustrated at the woman, because she isn’t making it easier for him by trying to use her feet to climb up the rocks. He doesn’t see the snake threatening to strike again. 

And as I pondered our current situation it came to me that this is relevant to the COVID-19 story. COVID-19 is the snake in this story and the boulder is the economic impact. They are both very real dangers/pressures that we are facing. The man represents those  individuals who believe that the risk to the economy is the most immediate concern. The woman is representative of the group that believes that the virus is the clearest present danger. Whether or not we identify as the man or the woman in this story is less important than recognizing if they work together, they are far more likely to save themselves. 

Right now the science, the CDC, the WHO and the Government is telling us that COVID-19 is poised to strike quickly. These are the people who have the deepest insights into the facts surrouding both pressures. They are providing the strategy and priorities for navigating this pandemic. They are telling us we need to pull the woman out of harm's way first through social distancing and quarantines. Once she is back on the ledge, she will be able to push that economic boulder off the man's back. 

I recognize my own pressures may cloud my viewpoint, but logic seems to support the argument that if the man doesn't pull the woman to safety, he loses the person he needs to save himself.