We’re all on the same side
Each of you have valid feelings. Each and every one of you has an opinion that matters. It is okay to share your story, your experience, and your perspective. Now, more than ever, is a time to listen, uplift, and encourage others. For most of us, these times are unprecedented. It is the perfect opportunity to set an example for future generations. When they look back on history from a social standpoint, what do we want them to see? Will this be the event that divided us further, or the one that brought us closer together?
Do you remember 9/11? For a good while after tragedy struck, the people of the United States were more in sync than I ever remember. There was no picking a side. We were a nation under attack, and we united to honor our people and protect our country. Men and women, Christian and atheist, heterosexual and homosexual, black and blue, democrat and republican, Northern and Southern, East and West; no one was paying attention to what “side” you were on. It was absolutely beautiful to see how empowered we were when the focus shifted off of which “side” of an argument you were on to being of one mind. We came together like never before and we need to find that again.
It is a crucial time for us, as a nation. You don't have to share someone's opinion to listen or to be kind. Exceedingly difficult decisions are being made by many of our federal, state, and local leaders. They are striving to listen to what the people want, but there are conflicting needs and each person expressing their own needs feels very strongly that they are right. So much so, that they are not giving the other side a chance to speak. Everyone is screaming loudly onto more platforms that ever before and no one can be heard over the volume. Our leaders are surrounded by loud noise, with no prior experience that compares to the battle that is COVID-19 or the battle that is a stay-at-home order. I can not even begin to imagine being in charge of a decision that could cause great numbers of people to contract a virus and lose their lives. Nor can I imagine being in charge of a decision that may put someone in a place where they have never felt more alone and feel like there is no reason to go on living. The volume of the people and the weight of making decisions must be nearly unbearable.
Our current situation offers enough division without us criticizing someone’s point of view on it.
Some people are enjoying the time at home with families (or even alone) and getting time to reflect, make memories, and rekindle relationships, but others are actually alone, living with no human connection beyond what can be offered through a screen.
While some are essential employees, maybe even having an increase in wages, others are non-essential and unemployment wages are barely allowing them to feed their families and pay for the roof over their head.
Some are making more than they did working while being able to save because of the $600 increase in unemployment wages, some are drowning in the worries of what ifs.
What the deferment of payments means for the future when the country is no longer in crisis-mode. Will they repossess the car if the deferred payments are not made in a month? Two months? What about the house? Is the bank going to take away my family’s home?
Some have received a stimulus payment and some have not. Some received it and paid the mortgage. Some received it and bought a new home entertainment center and some paid ahead on their mortgage. Some may have even put it in savings.
Some are praying that it will come soon so they can fill the fridge.
Some have been homeschooling for years. Some knew years ago it was something they could never do properly. Some have their own schooling on top of helping their kids with schoolwork. Some are essential employees trying to find the time to do it all.
Some are single parents. Some are families.
Some know someone who has died from COVID-19. Some know someone who has recovered from COVID-19. Some have COVID-19.
For some, staying at home in isolation is ideal, for some, it could be a constant struggle through depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.
We are all facing the beast of COVID-19. We’re all facing the beast of an unprecedented amount of governmental control in a time where we already feel vulnerable to circumstances that are out of our control.
We all handle it differently and that’s not only okay, but what allows us to learn, grow, and develop new tactics for situations in the future that might need a similar response - for our youth, for our future.
Take a moment, tune out the screaming, and listen to the small voice in the back. Maybe it’s yours, maybe it’s someone in need of being heard, either way, you will likely hear something you could not before. We do not have to pick a side and tear each other down. We can just as easily have an opinion while listening, offering compassion, and being open to different perspectives that offer growth and improvement. Above all, be kind.