Business as Usual

This one has been burning in my head for the last few days. Every week is another curve ball in this whole COVID drama. Even though we are far in, I don't think we quite have the grasp of hindsight yet. So for me it is about checking in daily and taking inventory.

Yes there was the initial phase of jigsaw puzzles, baking recipes and learning technology for Zoom meetings. But to me, that is just biding time. I have my eyes set on the light at the end of tunnel and am starting to grasp the next level of division that is evidently coming.

Each state, city and even neighborhood is trying to decide how this withdrawal will work. We are having to rely on whatever leadership we have, whether we trust that or choose to defy the parameters. There is never going to be a mutual consensus that is agreed upon. It is unknown and even facts are blurry. From what I can see, there are tons of options with much middle ground and compromise.

But as everything in this country seems to now dissolve into, it is looking like it will again be a two-side battle. You are either a snowflake liberal that is demanding absolute quarantine and sweating at the palms with gloves and face mask on. Or you are a fanatic conservative waving a rifle on the Capitol steps or a playground saying that your rights are being violated.

Neither party is equipped to handle how opening a restaurant back up will unfold. Or how a non profit board will craft a new direction for a theater to survive. Either one is a very specific entity and needs to do what is right for the organization it serves. This may have nothing to do with a governor or a President. Only they are burdening the weight of foreclosure, mortgage payments, a payroll relying on them, skilled workers that they have trained. On the floor at work EVERY day; I get customers who are "so thankful that you are open and we needed this" to "Why are you open, where are your guidelines and why is every patron not wearing a mask?" Every one of them is entitled to an opinion. But they are not entitled to judge others. They are not living in those shoes or in that world. 

Sadly, each of us is going to have to choose how this situation affects us and what we can or cannot deal with. You can always make the choice to not shop or support this business. You can make the choice to advocate for artists that you love. But there is no absolute right and wrong. It is not Business as Usual. Be firm in yourself but not judgemental of the choices of everyone else. It is literally about your own survival, and while someone else choices may impact yours, it is ultimately your own to make.