Over the past week and a half, most people have found their lives changed -- maybe even turned "upside down" as they've been faced with the challenges associated with government mandates closing schools, churches and public places including gyms, restaurants, coffee shops. Many resources we took for granted are no longer options for us.
And, this isn't just a local, county, state or national issue -- it's something facing people in varying degrees around the world.
Through this trial, we've seen the best and the worst in people and it's not over.
People have stepped up in volunteering and serving and sacrificing as they've tried to minister to those without. Others have grumbled, complained and attempted to hoard resources.
Through it all, retailers keep clocking in, restocking shelves, filling online orders. Doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals go to work and then self-isolate at home away from their spouses and children for fear of contaminating them.
There are many things neither you nor I can change, the disease, the quarantine, the closures, the social distancing being some of them. But, there are things we can change, the most important of which are our personal choices beginning with our attitudes.
Let's find, and be grateful for, our blessings and share those instead of whining.
We, unlike our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents who survived the polio and smallpox plagues, the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, have technology at our fingertips. Let's use it for good.
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Editor's note: Annette Beard is the managing editor of The Times of Northeast Benton County, chosen the best small weekly newspaper in Arkansas for five years. She can be reached at [email protected].
Editorial on 03/25/2020