Today is Monday, May 4th. The first Monday following an April that none of us will soon forget. COVID-19 has changed our world in ways that none of us could have imagined. I keep thinking that our current reality is leaning more towards a Stephen King novel or a Hollywood movie; however, this is not fiction; it is real.
In April, the United States experienced more deaths due to COVID-19, then we did during the entire Vietnam War. I am old enough to remember that horrific time in our history, to have had family members who lost their lives during the war, and to understand the impact Vietnam had on so many individuals and America as a whole. Much like the impact Vietnam had on those who served the long term impact that COVID-19 will have on our country is undoubtedly unknown at this time. The short term impact is visible to all of us, and for some, the effect is painfully real. While I know many people are struggling every day to get through this challenging time daily, I cannot help to think about the future. My sincere hope is that we do not let the pain we are going through as a society be forgotten and that we learn from this in a meaningful way and truly change our behavior as individuals and as a society.
Here are the things I hope we can focus on as we move forward and recovery from this time in our history.
- Revisit minimum wage and living wage considerations-this is at the root of so many of our struggles.
- Pay teachers what they are worth – education is critically important as a foundation for us a country.
- Give more – be it of your time, money, or talents. We all have something we can share with someone else, which will make a meaningful impact.
- Bring principles, the needs of people, and the priority of the country back into politics.
- Focus more on relationships – face to face experiences, conversations, and quality time with each other.
- Reconsider what our healthcare system should look like – top to bottom the current model needs to change.
Our country is certainly in a challenging time…let’s make sure we learn and change as a result of it.
“The present is the past rolled up for action, and the past is the present unrolled for understanding.”― Ariel Durant
Work hard, be kind, add value, make an impact.
