One month ago today I started writing. While I had meant for this to be a daily chronicle of life under COVID-19, I have been unable to write every day. But I have done my best to chronicle as best I can what I'm experiencing and what I'm observing in the world around me.
Today I am very tense both because I'm trying to help my son with assignments online and also from a discussion on Facebook. I have very nearly lost my patience with those who say, "But, the flu!" or "But, abortion!" when the death rates from COVID-19 are discussed. I hear, "Well, why don't we shut down the country every flu season?" Or, "Why aren't we this upset about the millions of innocent lives sacrificed to abortion?"
At the moment, Facebook is running slow, or I would be shutting down a thread that is threatening to devolve into an abortion argument. I've dealt with two threads already that have been arguing about COVID-19 and our responses to it, whether or not the statistics are correct, whether or not we should build up our herd immunity, and also "But, the flu!" and "But, abortion!"
I unfriended and blocked someone who got very rude in her comments, especially when the subject of abortion came up. A friend commented that outlawing abortion would result in women dying; she could have died from a difficult pregnancy. The reply she got in response: "I hope you repent of your murder." The friend had been told by a doctor that if she continued to lose weight as the result of severe morning sickness, she might have to have an abortion in order to save her life. She did go on to have that baby.
Another thread, in which I commented that "abortion is a complex issue" has resulted in another discussion that I hope is not about to evolve out of control. One person commented that the remarks she got about how she was a murderer because she had an ectopic pregnancy and had to abort her baby (which would not have survived and might have killed the mother) was one of the reasons she walked away from Christianity. That broke my heart. Sometimes we who call ourselves Christians can be so unkind to people.
I am really tired of people "piggybacking" (to borrow a word from another FB friend) their own issues onto the COVID-19 outbreak here in the US. And while many Christians I know of have stepped up and been the hands and feet of Christ in this outbreak, many Christians have shown a very selfish side, demanding that their "rights" to meet together take precedence over the public health threat we have. Some have defied government orders outlawing gatherings of ten or more.
(Incidentally, I don't see this happening with synagogues and mosques or other houses of worship in the US. I don't see them demanding their "rights" to meet together. Only certain groups of Christians. But it could be that the reason I don't see it is because such articles are not showing up on my radar. I suspect that there are those who will say that it's only Christians who are targeted by enforcement of such laws but that mosques and synagogues aren't.)
There are also those who don't trust the CDC, don't trust the information coming from the US government, don't trust doctors because they are "tools of the deep state" or "owned by George Soros" or whatever reason they have for not trusting them. Look, I believe in having a healthy skepticism, but for God's sake, who do you trust, then??
There are those who want the economy reopened, now, or by a particular date, because they fear a collapsing economy and suicides as the result of a collapsing economy. I can only say that we can rebuild an economy but we can't bring back the dead, and if we open the economy too soon, might we end up killing off the people we need to rebuild our economy?
I really do not know what to say to people who are dead set on believing what it is they want to believe, and being rude to people who do not agree with them. I don't know what to do about the economy; when do we open things up? I don't know if it's safe. I don't know if this is just the beginning of the government taking away our freedom to move wherever we wish or worship however we wish. I don't know if there are those in charge who will treat this situation as a power grab. I. Just. Do. Not. Know.
I do know that there is very little excuse for deliberate unkindness to people, especially in these days when we need all the kindness we can get.
Today I will breathe and find a way to decompress.
Until then, let's all join together in our theme song:
It's the end of the world as we know it
It's the end of the world as we know it
It's the end of the world as we know it
And I feel fine!
Just my .04, adjusted for inflation.
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