Ours is a great and beautiful country of mountains. prairies, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, deserts, forests and oceans. It is filled with a wonderful people who care deeply about freedom, justice, and mercy.
Sure, we argue about politics and are as diverse in our beliefs as our makeup. For we are a homogenized mix of all human beings on the planet. But when we are called to rise up, we join hands and do just that. It's ingrained in our DNA.
From the birth of America as a nation, through revolution, civil war, world wars, economic depressions and recessions, health crises, and internal struggles, we find our way, persist, endure, and overcome. Despite our many imperfections, we unite and respond with a resounding spirit. We shine through. That is who we are.
This business of shining through is the essence of our greatness. Not too many of us are still around who experienced how America beat the Great Depression or defeated the tyranny of Adolph Hitler. But there are lots of us left who remember how we fought for voting equality and Civil Rights. Still more of us who clearly remember how we came together after September 11. There are plenty of other times of triumph both big and small over the past 70 years. Though, perhaps, now is the best example of all. The novel coronavirus pandemic is demonstrating what it is that makes us shine. It is showing how we are made up of folks who care more about "the least" of us than about our individual wellbeing.
Of course there are those among us who regard individuals who do not or cannot produce goods or services as expendable. But they are an arrogant, loud and heartless fraction of the minority.
The everyday heroes on frontlines who sacrifice their own lives every day to provide comfort and safety for suffering and struggling victims of COVID-19 make up the essence of our nature. So heroic too are the vast numbers of us who do our part in protecting one another by staying at home and pitching in through countless efforts. Though it has been made clear who is considered least and who is most deserving by some, the rest of us are not on board with that.
“The kindness that defines the new covenant is kindness to strangers.”
I love the story that Jesus tells of the King who defined our purpose saying; "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." Then the righteous answered him saying, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?“ The King replied, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." Great Americans are the ones who clearly see the hungry, thirsty and broken. And we serve at any cost, shining through the darkness in our individual and collective humble generosity.
How can we dig down and do more? That is a question on our lips as we look for ways to help during this time of great need. There are two vulnerable populations I can think of that could use a hand;
There are sick and symptomatic kids with novel coronavirus who are terrified. They are homeless. And they live in our country. Kevin Ryan, Executive Director of Covenant House, is frantically appealing for help as offices are being repurposed as isolation wards. They are feeding over 30,261 young people this very week. Every bed is filled across 31 cities with vulnerable children. No federal bail-out exists for them. These are our children.
Fragile elders are facing a lonely death sentence. Seema Verma, Administrator at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), says that nursing homes are "ground zero" for COVID-19. Concerned with the go-forward for reopening America, the White House announced new regulations requiring these long term health facilities to report cases of the disease. Yet, as the number of nursing home deaths soared to over 10,000 on April 23, 2020, there is no federal aid package to rescue them. These are our grandparents.
So…pony up in whatever way you can. The effects of COVID-19 touch all aspects of our society and of our lives to be sure. The psalmist tells us that God "is near to the brokenhearted whose spirits are crushed." If we want to get closer to God, we do so by our selfless good deeds.
Let's keep rolling up our sleeves until we beat this thing. After all, this is America.