Photo by Adam Nieścioruk on Unsplash
Heavy sacks of water fill my eyes and I struggle to keep them at bay. I woke up this morning to an aggressive dance happening in my gut as concern for others left me feeling hopeless. I got out of bed and struggled to gather myself for the day, and I turned on the TV to check the status of our living nightmare. I want to apologize early in this post because I don’t think it will make you feel better. However, that is not my goal. I hope to help you feel enough sympathy, empathy, or at minimum common decency to care about someone else. I watched for two hours as CNN reflected political debates over mask-wearing, and then quickly moved to the tragic death of Breonna Taylor that still goes without prosecution.
People are dying. THIS IS FACT! People are dying. THIS IS TRUTH! Countless families are losing people close to them and they cannot assemble to memorialize their loss because to do that means risking their own lives. Maybe you haven’t lost someone to COVID-19, police brutality, or any other fatal sociological and physiological disease. However, you must come out of your bubble long enough to realize that this affects us all. I am not asking you to cry with me. I am not asking you to go out and protest. I am asking you to be a humanitarian.
adjective
concerned with or seeking to promote human welfare
noun
a person who seeks to promote human welfare
Manage the liberty you have been given and apply it to the health and well-being of others. You may not have money to donate or any resources to tangibly give. However, your consideration for another human’s life is more than enough. You may ask me: How do I show this consideration? PUT THE DAMN MASK ON! You have the power to protect yourself and others by putting on the mask. This physiological attack on our health has bound itself to a sociological determinate that has caused it to multiply its potential for infection. Why do we wait for our political leaders to mandate our humanity? We are looking to them to do the very thing that we have the power to do ourselves. Why do we need someone to force us to be concerned about one another? Why do we need a government-issued quarantine to stay home whenever possible and to social distance? Why do we have this feeling of invincibility when over 550,000 people have died in half a year, and over 12 million people have been infected? Is this not enough for you to be a little uncomfortable and wear a mask when you go outside?
We supposedly live in one of the freest countries in the world. Yet, we take our liberties for granted and we take life too lightly. Somehow, we got this notion that tomorrow is promised. Somehow, we live in a dream state that the future is guaranteed. Well, I don’t have the mental benefit of pretending like sickness and death is not ravishing through this globe, nor do I want it. For that is a façade that I cannot afford to wear.
Use your power of choice for a positive impact. A mask is not the cure, nor is it the ultimate prevention. Social distancing is not full proof. However, if every single person does both imagine how impactful we can be in breaking the sociological enhancement that has allowed COVID-19 to be radically destructive.
1. Wear a mask over your nose and mouth at all possible times.
2. Social distance at least six feet (more is preferential).
3. Limit gatherings in quantity and population size.
You have a mind of your own. Don’t wait for someone to force you to care because you still won’t.
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