We’ve passed the six-month mark of the first Covid-19 virus diagnosis in the US, January 21, 2020, and it still rages with more and more cases every day, as well as increasing deaths due to its spread. We’ve also passed the two-month mark of the death of George Floyd, May 25, 2020. Both of these occurrences have changed the landscape of our lives in this country, and I feel we must pay attention to them, learn and act. They are turning points, and we can go either way on both of them: either show our humanity and care about and for each other, all of us, or ignore the consequences of selfish actions and continue with our own individual lives as if no one else matters.

We must wear masks. We must practice physical distancing. We must wash our hands frequently and sanitize surfaces. These are not difficult guidelines, and they can save lives, maybe even our own. Yet there are those who protest, especially mask wearing. They say it violates their personal freedom. But what about the freedom of others to be safe? We do not live in a vacuum. There are millions of others sharing the same spaces, and they have rights, too. But more than that, what about compassion and good will? How have we somehow fallen off the path of decency and caring? How do we get back on it?

Then there is the rampant racism infecting our country. It has been present for generations, and I’ll bet most of us don’t even know why it began, let alone why it continues. People who are held down for so long are bound to rebel, and it’s what we’re seeing now in the streets of many cities around the country. And who can blame them? People of color want equality and fairness, and they should have them. They shouldn’t have to fight for rights they already have. They should be treated as the equal citizens they are.

It seems too much to have two battles to fight at once, but it’s what we’ve been given, and there is no avoiding them. Are we going to be participating citizens and good people or angry, mean, selfish people? I hope that most of us will be the former.

Who Will We Become?

Who will we become
as we try to find our way
through this maze?
Will we move with assurance
along the winding paths
or bump into dead end after dead end
and grow frustrated and afraid
that we won’t find our way out?
Will we become stronger
and more self-reliant
or shrink within ourselves
and hide from reality?
Will we be kind and generous
or selfish and angry?
The unknown can be frightening
or an exploration of what is within.
Who will we become
in these times of uncertainty?
Which will we choose to follow,
the rabbit down his hole
or the sun moving across the sky?

© 2020 Dorothy A Joslyn

Write about what you can do to slow the spread of Covid-19. What are you doing now? How do you feel when you are out in the world?

How can you educate yourself about racism in our country? How do you define it? What will you do to help eradicate it?

Write about how you are feeling in these uncertain and volatile times. Pour your emotions, fears and hopes on the page. How can you maintain your equilibrium and continue living your life under these trying circumstances?