Mask Up, Lock Down, Is That Honestly Too Much To Ask?

November 16, 2020- 8 Months later into a World-Wide Pandemic, and has much really changed? If anything, we've learned more about COVID-19, but we're right back where we started in the spring. Why? Why have we circled back to the start of this pandemic?

The answer? Because we've grown lazy and we've gotten tired of this pandemic. I get it, even I'm tired of wearing a mask everywhere I go, while having to stay home most of the week. I miss seeing my friends and even going into an office to work. That doesn't mean I grow lazy, while we're in the middle of a pandemic. Wearing a mask with glasses isn't easy, especially at this point, but I still wear one. I have to keep pushing my glasses to a certain point so it doesn't fall of my face, but I can't keep it too close otherwise they get foggy. I still do it though, I wear the mask, I maintain my 6 feet distance from other people, and I continuously sanitize. So why is it so hard for others to do the same?

I get that everyone is tired of living with these restrictions. But has anyone bothered to realize that because people have chosen to give up, not care, and get lazy, we've literally come full circle in this pandemic. We've gotten right back to where we've started. The amount of COVID-19 positive cases is soaring through the roof in almost 85 percent of the United States. The number of deaths is heading back up into the hundreds on a daily basis. Take Michigan for example, we've gotten almost 8000 cases a day, every day, for the last week and a half. That is not good. That is not the end of this pandemic. In any case, it's the second phase. Governor Whitmer announced last night that we're going to go back under another 3 week lock down.

If we're tired as hell of sitting at home, imagine the thousands of doctors, nurses, physician assistants, first responders, and anyone else who has had to be at the front line of this pandemic. They've had to call thousands time of deaths, and tell thousands of families and loved ones that someone has died because of Corona Virus. How is it fair to any of them to undergo another wave, because we've chosen to give up, because we've chose to get lazy, because we've chosen to not care? I won't deny that its been hard. It gets lonely, it gets crazy, and it's like another form of claustrophobia and suffocation. We all love our families, but sometimes its better to be on your own than living with them and doing every single thing with them for 24/7 for 8 months straight. And sometimes its better to be in the company of your family than being alone for 8 months straight, cut off from family, not being able to get in contact with them, being afraid you're carrying the virus and giving it to someone in your family who's more at risk. 8 Months of either of these situations are not easy. It's enough to drive a person crazy and want to get out and be free.

Hell, 2020 has probably been one of the worst years a lot of us have experienced in our entire lifetimes. Especially for those who are in college, and getting their feet dirty. There has been so much chaos, and change occurring throughout this year, that its overwhelming. But if anything, this year should be an eye opener for us to see what kind of people we are, or are slowly turning into. If we really think its more important to focus on personal satisfaction over putting those we love in danger, can we really claim that we care about those people? If we overlook the facts and statistics fed to us every day, overlook personal experiences that have been shared with us, overlook the people who have been fighting COVID for 8 months, and front-liners fighting to keep those people alive, and trust the words of an administration that has repeatedly made the claim that this pandemic is over (when it really wasn't), refuses to listen to the science that is trying to save lives, and does not address the thousands of people who are suffering because of the lack of action, then can we really claim that we are the world's strongest country? Can we claim, as a people and a population, that we are good people? That we care about others just as much as we do about ourselves?

I just want to ask, of everyone and myself included, don't get lazy just because you've had enough of maintaining the restrictions. There are front-liners, fighting every day to make sure that patients are able to get home to their loved ones still breathing. They risk their own lives, they risk getting infected themselves, dying from COVID, to make sure their patients are able to get home to their families. It is not fair on them to have to risk so much, and for us to not follow what the scientists are saying can prevent widespread contamination. If not for ourselves or for our own loved ones who are more at risk, can we at least do it for them?

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I want to say THANK YOU, to all the doctors, nurses, first responders, police officers, and everyone who is currently working in the hospitals trying to keep COVID patients alive. You guys have done more than anyone should have asked of you, and you guys have sacrificed and risked so much for the American Population. Now I don't know about anyone else, but this is my attempt to get everyone to understand that this pandemic is far from over, especially since many people refuse to listen to what the science is saying. I hope that people will listen and get others to listen, so that the weight on all of your shoulders lightens up a bit. The only way out of this pandemic is through, and the only way for all of us to get through is to stay United. Again, I just want to say THANK YOU, to every front liner, who has sacrificed and risked more than they should have, and done more than was ever expected.

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I also want to say THANK YOU, to all the small business owners, gym owners, movie theaters, restaurant owners, and more. Not for fighting to get open, but for listening to what the doctors and researchers have said. For implementing CDC guidelines to ensure that everyone is safe while going out. I know you guys have suffered a lot, economically speaking, and many of you probably closed down because of this pandemic. The fact is, you guys have been as strong as a steel horse. You all are probably seeing one of the worst economic setbacks, since probably the Great Depression. But you guys haven't quit. Instead, you guys are fighting to not only keep your doors open, but to make sure that the employees you have hired are not left to struggle on their own, like some people have. I know its asking a lot of you all to go through another lock down, but given how you guys have handled yourselves to the best of your ability, I honestly believe it'll take more than that to force you guys to give up. Thank You, for not giving up on yourself or on others when the world is literally kicking our butts right now.

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I also want to say I'm sorry, to everyone I've mentioned in this article. I'm sorry you guys have to deal with such pig headed people, to such stubborn people who instead of help curbing the curve, are making it steeper and bigger. I'm sorry, if any of my own actions or words have not helped in the subsiding of COVID-19 cases, but rather put more people at risk. I'm sorry for the people who have to deal with other people who refuse to listen to what the science says, break quarantine, and put more people at risk of getting Corona virus. I'm sorry, if I have been one of those people in the last 8 months. But, from now on, I promise, to follow what the science says, and to follow the restrictions put in place. I promise not to put others at risk for my own personal satisfaction. I promise to be better, to those who are suffering worse than me, and for those who have risked themselves to make sure I have a future. I am willing to promise to do this, but my final question to anyone who actually bothered to read this entire post to the end, can/will you promise to at least try to do better than how we have been doing right now?