It’s Time for Prudence, Patience

It’s Time for Prudence, Patience

Oops, not so fast there, Bucko!

Just about the time that Utah officials had the public conned into thinking that it was safe to go back out onto the streets, reality had to go and rear its ugly head.

New data from the Southwest Utah Public Health Department shows that Covid-19 cases have jumped 99.4 percent, from 360 to 710 in just two weeks, putting a hold on the governor’s plans to move the state from yellow status.

I guess science was right again, that the peak hasn’t been reached in the spread of this disease and that we need time and patience to work our way through. Funny how that works, isn’t it?

Compounding the governor’s woes is a news item that reports that a number of small business entrepreneurs in Utah are considering litigation against the state and its elected officials for shutting things down and, well, I am sure it ruined Gary Herbert’s day. With problems such as this, it is no wonder he decided to not run for another term as governor.

I always thought of Herbert as a cardboard cutout, devoid of human depth and awareness, a numbers cruncher, not a person of the people. I guess Jon Huntsman needed that when he made Herbert his running mate. But, during the few times we were around each other, I could never get a good feel for the man. He always struck me as a guy who spent more time with his calculator than engaging in conversation.

The lawsuit being threatened against him is nothing more than grandstanding and will probably never reach a court date. It’s just a way to generate some interest in the candidate these businessmen are pinning their hopes on and a way to stick their thumb into the eye of authority.

Now, I don’t mind that so much. I know of no political leaders who don’t deserve a contentious eye-poking now and then to bring them back to the core of the situation. This happens to be a frivolous suit, of course, but it is also a reminder to the GOP base that the ultra-conservative wing of the party is alive and kicking. It’s a way to rile up the Trump base and stop the bleeding as the president’s advantage in the polls has slipped to an astonishing low of 3 percent. There is still a lot of daylight between now and election day, so expect that number to travel in both directions before we cast our ballots. As far as the governor’s race is concerned I don’t think Herbert cares much and will just be happy getting away from it all. How he acts between now and the day he hands over the keys to the capitol, however, will be a telling story into the character of the lame-duck governor. Will we see a deeper connection to humanity or will he be more concerned with the economy? Both are important, but, really, what good is owning a store if there’s nobody left to shop in it?

Look, I behave myself and do not go out in public unless absolutely necessary, and when I do, I wear a mask.

That doesn’t mean I like it.

In reality, I am not much of a social butterfly. I can be content as hell just spending time with my wife, watching movies on the television, reading, listening to music, or any of the other rather mundane domestic endeavors I engage in. But, there is also this part of me that does not like being told what I can and cannot do, restricting where I can or cannot go that nags at my brain. Sometimes I feel as if I would love nothing better than to flip the bird to authorities, run down to the local bar without my mask, listen to some live music, and down a few beers. The hell of it is although I truly love a good bar band and live music, I’m not all that fond of beer. But, I am fond of my personal freedom.

The thing is, the rational side of me realizes that I really am not ready to cash it in just yet and that I should protect not only myself but others around me – family, friends, strangers. It’s not just a courtesy, it is a duty, a responsibility we owe our fellow human beings.

For the record, all of the states that are loosening up restrictions are jumping the gun. The health experts are warning us, we are just not heeding their words because it is inconvenient or uncomfortable or difficult or simply because we are so accustomed to getting our way that we cannot fathom doing something only for the greater good.

If it sounds like moralizing, well, that’s exactly what it is. But we need some sort of moral discussion here as we proceed.

We are at a place in our evolutionary journey where we are no longer patient, we are no longer willing to make the sacrifices necessary, something they clearly understood way back in time when mankind huddled around a fire in a cave. If they hadn’t we probably wouldn’t have survived as a species.

Today, we’re too busy, hunched over social media, and hurling insults and denigrating others to consider the collective humanity. The guy in the White House, of course, gave us a license to do that, but permission does not justify stupid, hateful, or angry behavior, so in the end, it is really on each of us to make those decisions with our moral compass pointed towards humanity.

Look, it has been a rough couple of months. I think we are all, to a certain degree, feeling the mental, physical, and emotional fatigue of this Covid-19 pandemic. Add to that, of course, the pain and outrage of racist murders and the protests they have spawned and it has left people of goodwill clinging to the slimmest threads of their sanity and reason. But, cling we must if we ever wish to begin the season of healing.

To achieve that, however, we must act with prudence and patience.

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