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Page A-4 - Shelton-Mason Journal -. Thursday, March 19, 2020
THESE TIMES
l1?
This is now the only news
‘C D on’t politicize this. I’m so tired
of it,” Wendy, a friend of ours,
told me over the phone late
last Saturday afternoon. She was serious.
“If this is What you want to talk about,
just give the phone to your wife right
now. I mean it.”
Near the start of our conversation, I
had mentioned a newspaper story I had
just read about Fox News listeners who
lived in an old folks’ enclave in Florida.
Those Floridians were sunnily pooh-pooh-
ing threats posed by the novel
coronavirus, but I was fuzzy
on the article’s details, which
is no way to make a point
about Florida.
By the time of that phone
call, I had spent the morning
and afternoon moping around
the house, mainlining virus
news, reading “The Plague”
by Albert Camus, playing
cribbage on my cellphone and
criticizing myself for moping
around the house. My brain was sludge.
It’s no way to spend a pandemic.
Thoughts of hoarding couldn’t motivate
me, likely because I already own 25 rolls
of toilet paper. When people feel a lack of
control in the face of a threat, they want
toilet paper. Who knew?
The politics of this pandemic, espe-
cially our opinions about the politics,
really are irrelevant now. What we need
is true-blue, reliable information —- not
information that’s designed to entertain
us. And if you still don’t want to take this
seriously, consider Italy.
We can no longer afford the luxury of
our ignorance.
What’s the mortality rate of this virus?
. How long can it live on a porous surface?
What did Taiwan do to escape with just
one COVID-19 death? Why are children
who contract the virus less likely to have
a severe reaction? How contagious are we
if we’re asymptomatic?
We need brain answers. Not gut
hunches.
Don’t believe anything — anything,
anything, anything — on “social media”
until you verify it with reliable sources,
unless it’s pictures of my niece’s newborn
twins. Don’t pass on information you
don’t know to be true, especially if you
ardently hope it’s true. Don’t name-call
and use demeaning nicknames for people.
It’s time to grow up. Be responsible and
helpful.
Trying to demonize China for being
the birthplace of this virus? Irrelevant.
Accusing the current occupant of the
Oval Office of cutting pandemic experts
from the National Security Council? Irrel-
evant. There might be time for blame and
skirting blame later. Remember Donald
Rumsfeld? You go into a pandemic with
mefiii’hal
USPS 492-800
By KIRK
ERICSON
PCST MASTER: Send address changes to Shelton-Mason
County Journal, P.0. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584.
Published weekly by the Shelton-Mason County Journal
at 227 W. Cota St, Shelton, Washington.
Mailing address: PO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584
Telephone: 360-426—4412 '
Website: www.masoncounty;com
Periodicals postage paid in Shelton, Washington.
the president you have, not the president
you. might want or wish to have.
Don’t be pleased that this president
is finally facing a foe he can’t shame, be-
little, sue, fire, squash or threaten. Don’t "
take joy that Joe Biden has brain lapses.
' Right now, we need to listen to the com-
petent people. We need leaders who can
focus, listen and assemble facts, and who
can imagine a better future and get us
there.
And if your leaders aren’t competent,
think and work around them. Pay
them no heed, like that one person
in the office who always has time for
chat but not work. Remember those
politicians when you vote in Novem-
ber.
The interconnectedness of hu-
mans has never been clearer. A new
coronavirus in eastern China that
erupted about four months ago has
now seen the world. What happened
6,000 miles from South Puget Sound
late last year is affecting everyone
here, in this nation, on this globe.
This is precisely the sort of problem
government is made for. Right now, we
must recognize a truth: Government is
the solution to our problem, not the cause
of the problem.
Around the world, we need eggheads,
we need experts, we need people with
raw, native intelligence who can synthe-
size multiple threads of information, we
need people who went to college, skipped
the parties and studied hard, we need
people who dropped out and created bio-
technology companies, we need innovative
manufacturers, we need epidemiologists,
virologists, doctors and nurses, and most
critically, we need leaders who can lead
us to a future where humans can thrive.
We don’t need glib leaders who can
only follow their followers.
We need to listen to Dr. Anthony-
Fauci, head of the National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the
National Institutes of Health. vFauci, a
member of the president’s coronavirus
team, has effectively become the royal
regent. For state information, trust the
Department of Health’s website: doh.
wa.g0v. For national information, go to
cdc.gov. For international infornmtion,
go to who.int. For a data view of the
pandemic, go to worldometers.info/coro-
navirus.
Take a daylong break from the news
every so often. Listen to music. Don’t
mope. Exercise. Get enough sleep. Eat
better, and treat people better, too. Have
respect for facts.
Act.
Live.
I Contact Kirk Ericson at kirk@
masoncounty.com.
JOURNAL EDITORIAL
We’re in this together
in the big cities are over-
reacting, but a time of crisis
generally brings out the best in '
people who live in small commu-
nities.
While some of our neighbors
may be excessively worried, the
level-headed will continue to do
what they can with the resources
they have.
This is a time for generosity
and leadership and almost every-
one can help.
Start by taking notes. Cre-
ate a list of your neighbors, with
telephone numbers and ad-
dresses.
If they don’t want your help,
that’s fine, plenty of people who
appreciate your kindness.
Help those you can and do so
in a healthful way.
Seniors are especially suscep—
tible to illness and those who live
alone have an increased risk if
no one checks in on them.
Parents with_children may
need you to make a grocery run
for them, or a trip to the phar-
macy.
An elderly person might need
you to get their mail or drag
their'garbage cans to the curb.
If thoughts of helping other
people overwhelm you, try to
help just one neighbor — that
person can look out for you too.
Think about the people closest to
It may seem that our cousins
your home, on your block, in your
neighborhood.
A “get well soon” note can'
brighten a person’s day.
Volunteer: Mason County has
many great organizations that
could use an extra hand support-
ing those who are ill or recover—
ing from any ailment.
If you have the means, donate
to a useful organization.
Clean your home or work-
place and be relentless keeping
surfaces sanitary. Pay extra
attention to those spaces that
you or others touch frequently
such as counters, chairs, phones,
door handles, keypads, remote
controls and of course, restroom
surfaces.
If you touch something,
leave it cleaner than before you
touched it.
Cold-and-flu season gener-
ally comes to a halt in April, and
there are several theories as to
why: more people are outside,
which offers us the healing pow-
er of vitamin D from the sun. It
also means we spend less time in
confined areas where a Virus can
more easily spread.
Dress properly for the weather
and go for a walk or a hike —
even a drive in the country with
the windows rolled down a bit
can help your attitude.
And help those people whom
you can help the most.
me 'uNIN'voLi/Eo
' HOME RULE r *7.
AS SEEN 3v.... .
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