Respect the elders. For a long time our society has disrespected its elders (while simultaneously over-respecting its youngsters.) We're supposed to protect our children. In some ways we've gotten better at this, but at the expense of sometimes over-protecting them. Our elders, on the other hand,are supposed to be respected and taken care of. With this virus huge swaths of people in our country are saying "I'll be fine if I get sick" and completely disregarding the fact that their elders will not be ok and in fact are dying every day by the thousands. This disregard for the elders has been both astounding and not really surprising to me. Many of us struggle every day with caring for our elders. Certainly in our society making money has become more important than protecting our elders. Making money. This is underneath everything. We are a nation ruled by greed. I'm not talking about the politicians in Washington. We know they are often driven by it. I'm talking about us. The people. The concept that some people are expendable (the elderly and people with other health issues) in the quest to restart the economy and reignite constant economic growth is rampant. This is really despicable. Schools are closed though children are about the least affected group with this virus, yet we do not consider our elders. I'm not 100% unemployed, but probably about 2/5. I'm very fortunate because my wife's income is intact. If my 2/5 continues we basically sail through this. If it does not we still financially survive it. I know there are people whose entire income has gone away. I know it is difficult. We need to respect the elders and stop the spread of this virus, rather than focus on "the economy." I understand people are hurt by this economy, and isn't that our challenge- to make that work somehow?

Friday, May 8th 2020