Updated: Dec 4, 2020
The year’s end approaches quick and the Christmas tree is stuffed in a box, bursting at the seams inside the garage closet. Two college classes have concluded. Two remain. The poultry pen is adorned with a pair of lit up reindeer and sleigh, though I’m sure the ducks couldn’t care less. To be honest, neither could I, most days.
COVID, having deflated much of daily life, continues. I’ve rearranged my office more than I’d care to announce, and there are several thousand eggs, of duck and chicken, filling the fridge.
Case counts are up, bank accounts are down, and too many of us don’t wear masks, social distance, or kindly tell our family and friends that gatherings are cancelled. Instead, we march blindly into the ditch of disregard for the counsel of medical professionals.
There yet remains, however, much for which to be content: though at the present I’m drawing a blank, because hope, while vital, is a luxury.
Blind hope is a fever dream. Blind hope destroys.
We must work to earn our hope. Only then will hope guide us to calmer waters, brighter days.
We must buckle up, strap in, and listen. We must act responsibly.
We are free, yes. But we are not free to hinder the freedom of others.
Each of us is obligated to preserve the rights and freedoms of all people.
Right now that means stay at home, social distance, and wear a mask.
Lead.
By.
Example.
It is your social obligation, and it is the essence of the Golden Rule.