It’s been months now of living in the reality of the coronavirus pandemic. I think its safe to say that none of us could have imagined the many ways our lives changed so fast, the things we took for granted, the ripple effects of having to live in a different way. I think its also safe to say that all of us have worked through a gamut of emotions and reactions. Depending on personalities, dispositions and history some respond to such an upheaval of the norm with withdrawal and anxiety, some respond with anger and resentment, some with denial or a need to accept other narratives, like conspiracies, to try to make some kind of sense of it. Thing is, that’s normal. It’s normal for a human being when faced with the feeling of “loss of efficacy” -— the sense of potentially not just experiencing one loss but a loss of a normalcy, loss of an anchor, a structure of life — to respond in those ways. Its also deeply connected to the grief process. We’re all grieving in one way or another no matter how we show it.
Predictably opinion media both on the right and the left have fed upon this initial emotional response. It sells to feed a flame of whatever a person’s emotional reaction is. Sadly the politicization of this pandemic has led to divisions among people that would likely not be divided otherwise — and often on very flimsy evidence. But again, it feeds what we are normally feeling right now — but directs in a way that leads not to banding together but dividing up into camps. This is very disturbing at a time like this when banding together is absolutely essential. In this climate we see narratives form like ‘to wear a mask or social distance is to be giving in to the government or liberal control” or “to be concerned about businesses being able to open up - and hoping they are able to sooner than later is to callously want more people to die”. Both narratives are false, but you’ve no doubt heard variations of them.
The thing is, I actually think we’re better than this. I think the division is tough to fight through but from my experience it starts with talking to each other. Finding out why we see things a certain way, but in a time like this I really think we have to push past what we want for ourselves and think about others. As a Christian this is central to my faith. As a citizen of the United States the best of who we are is connected to sacrificing for others for the common good. As a Hoosier and a citizen of Crawfordsville, its the very simple ethos I grew up around ---— you take care of people.
I’m thinking about this in light of our current situation. Restrictions have begun to be lifted as part of the governor’s “Back On Track” initiative. There are still things we’re being asked to do, and as the governor said in his address, it really is about us taking personal responsibility in this. There is no way to legislate or enforce things like masks or social distance or still limiting gatherings completely. In fact, no one wants that to be legislated and enforced. I grew up hearing and continue to hear much about how important personal responsibility is. Sometimes that gets connected with a desire to not have government in our lives. It seems like right now is a time when we have an opportunity to do just that. None of us want higher restrictions to be put back in place. None of us want businesses to keep suffering and jobs to keep being lost. None of us want more people to die. I think we can agree on this. I think we can also agree that we have to do our part then.
I know we all have our own reasons for doing our part --— and that can definitely affect our decisions and focuses. Its important for us to listen to each others stories and reasons. I’m going to tell you what motivates me to do the things I’ve committed to. Those things are to wear a mask when I’m in groups of people, limit my trips out and follow the restrictions that we are being asked, not forced to work together at doing.
The first reason is my family. We have the joy of having my mother live with us. Because of her age and other factors, she is someone at risk. If she contracted COVID it would be extremely serious and possibly fatal. I have a sister and a sister-in-law who work in healthcare. They work tirelessly to keep themselves and those they care for safe. They are willing to mask, to take precautions. I can do my part.
The second reason is my church community. I am a pastor and responsible for the care of our parish. It has been so very difficult to not be able to have services as usual. However I know that in our community we have those who are at risk — and so we take precautions, we limit numbers and ask people to mask if they are willing or keep social distance — I mask — out of care for everyone else there. I also have to stay healthy to be able to minister to people. We are doing this as a church not because the government forced us to — in fact Indiana and most states did not mandate churches follow guidelines — but we were asked to. I feel that as a Christian community we should go above and beyond what is expected even of businesses out of care for our neighbor. It is certainly not a religious freedom issue. Its a love your neighbor issue.
The third reason is my town. I love Crawfordsville. I love so many of the businesses and gathering places and events. It has been amazing to see so many local businesses adapt in the midst of all of this — some of them transforming into a service that gives hope and help. I want these businesses to be able to come back, but I know if I do not play my part, if I assert my own will to do things on my terms and don’t respect what I am asked to do if and when I visit them then it becomes more likely that cases will start to go up again and those businesses are harmed.
I think we all have family, communities and a town we love. In a time like this its important to remember that when we may be tempted to listen more to voices that stoke our fears, anger, anxiety and suspicion rather than remembering what is really important and living out of love for those people, those things. I have had to remind myself often through all of this, as I went through my own gamut of emotions and reactions, and often failed in giving in to the worst things, the very simple words “It’s not about me. It’s about caring for others.”
Joel Weir submitted this guest column.
