All of us yearn for a return to normal from this life robbing, costly pandemic.
We've done such a good job of sheltering-in-place to make that wish come true. Our everyday sacrifices, if viewed through a lens of last Thanksgiving, would seem unbelievable. The result of our efforts so far is impressive. What might have killed more millions than the 1918 flu has been mitigated worldwide. Superheroic and selfless undertakings of people who work in health care, law enforcement, food service, agriculture enterprises, and so many other professions have kept us afloat. Police Chaplains, for example, toil behind the scenes ministering to police officers, their families, and victims of crime day in and day out with little or no recognition. None of the servant leaders from hospitals to checkout lines are in it for kudos or pats on the back. Like the Energizer Bunny, they just keep going. The rest of us are unsung champions too. Without our willing participation in self quarantining, none of the successful containment would have been possible. But it is quite likely that we are throwing caution to the wind by rushing to open up our doors so soon even if in phases. I hope that I'm wrong.
On November 11, 1918, World War 1 was brought to an end. Returning troops came home to the USA from Europe bringing a new wave of the flu infecting 28 percent of the country’s population before it finally subsided at the end of December. On Day 59 of the Spanish flu the number of deaths around the world was 58,763. We are at about Day 59 COVID-19 right now with the official number of deaths on April 22 said to be at least 177, 789 (three times greater than 1918). Our freedom and economic well-being are critical to be sure. But our health is even more so. The 1918-1919 influenza killed 33,365,533 in 263 days. And even though the daily death toll has decreased from a high of 10,345 to 7,929 in the past seven days, the curve in our country has barely started to bend as we lost 40,000 people in just the past three weeks. Only South Korea is experiencing a significant downward trajectory. I make these comparisons only to point out that we could act as a returning army of Doughboys from the Great War bringing often asymptomatic infections and spreading coronavirus like wildfire if we are not very careful.
Science and technology are coming to our rescue. This is not 1918, and we are making great strides in finding vaccines to combat this epidemic. Medical advances made in 2020 will change the future. We are also building stockpiles of equipment in order to be prepared for future outbreaks. And satellites make instantaneous global communication a vital tool in dealing with such threats. So, with all of this in mind, the turnaround time in response to the next crisis should be dramatically improved. We will be better prepared.
What about right now? We certainly don't need to squirrel away food, water and essentials in our basements as we did in the 1950s while fretting about thermonuclear war.
We can stop hoarding toilet paper (and other things).
We can chill out, take a breath, and journey safely by continuing to practice good hand washing, social distancing and by avoiding risky large gatherings.
We can continue to offer support and compassion for each other without any notion of reparation.
We can drop political tribalism and adversarial oneupsmanship.
We can cooperate.
We can be different.
Charles Barkley, the famous retired basketball professional, and current sports analyst sums it up pretty well telling us "I made a conscious effort to change my lifestyle." He nails it with perfect simplicity. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, we must continue to pray for one another. God is with us as we offer up our hearts for a world that is finally healed.