From Cheers to Jeers -Part 2: Veneration to Vilification (?)

       It's been almost five months since I wrote here on behalf of several groups of people we have come to admire and appreciate, for their steadfast service and personal sacrifice throughout this pandemic. Ranging from health care workers to first responders, from grocery store clerks to truck drivers, these are 'everyday people' who simply continue to do their jobs they had been doing all along, but we have become more acutely aware and grateful due to their increased COVID exposure as an occupational hazard unforeseen, the extra hours of service, or other forms of sacrifice.                                                            In Part 1 I reflected on the 'reversal of fortune' some of the foregoing groups experienced and thought we might all want to once again pause and intentionally consider how we are treating them. While I have not seen or heard of any horrific treatment of nurses lately, for instance (such as being accused of spreading COVID), when was the last time any of us bought a health care worker or first responder a free meal? Remember, they don't ask for such gestures of appreciation, only for us to not get in their way and to practice good pandemic hygiene so as not to add to their COVID count (what kind of grade would you assign us as a group in this category?). So, while they don't any longer seem to be experiencing the previously noted abuse, they may be experiencing our collective neglect. And in the case of first responders, how did we go from the "Thank You First Responders" signs all around town to "Defund the Police" in what seems warp speed?! Of course, the forces that have brought on the latter are not directly related to the pandemic and more to do with railing against injustice, but the broad brush with which media, some politicians, and grass roots groups have used, has managed to smear the lens through which we viewed so many valiant men and women (who have continued to respond, even in the face of the pandemic and now protests). May we not lose sight.                                                                                            As school has resumed in all parts of our nation now (some in person, some remote, others in the so-called 'hybrid' formats), we have also become more acutely aware of the increased stress and pressures educators are experiencing as they have tried to sustain education on behalf of our children at the highest level of quality. Let's include day care workers here. The pressure of not only being potentially exposed to COVID by students in the case of in person, but also having to transform their educational plans and teaching formats with little or no forewarning. Also a salute here to the parents who have also had to make accommodations and adaptations in the home settings they could not have imagined a year ago. It has been inspiring to witness teachers and parents pulling together, as well as the resourcefulness of parents in forming groups (or now often referred to as 'pods') for the purpose of sustaining high quality education.                                                                                                                                                              One other group I prompted you to reflect on in the most recent post here ("Truth in Mending") is the unheralded researchers who are literally burning the midnight oil in search of a vaccine and therapeutics. Some of them may even work for the often vilified 'big pharma'. In any case, it is inevitable that, after we initially implore them to find a cure, and then applaud them if/when a vaccine eventuates, we will end up turning on them, such as in blaming them if it is not a complete success or side effects persist. Class actions law suits will ultimately follow if/when profits accumulate. Of course, none of us will intentionally vilify any particular researcher who is currently pursuing their work on our behalf relentlessly; they'll just be collateral damage. As long as we have our vaccine, who cares? Something to think about.                                                                                                                                                            I finish with a quote and exhortation by one of my favorite comedians, Bill Murray, from "Points to Ponder" in this month's edition of Reader's Digest: "This pandemic will graduate a new class of war veterans. Health care, food supply, deliveries, community services. So many owe so much to these few. How might this great country take our turn and take care of them all?"