Staying Safe. But for What?
This is an internal dialogue. It goes like this:
Why do you want to stay safe? What a stupid and insulting question!
Yes, but what’s the payoff for all these precautions you’re taking, and depriving yourself of your constitutional freedoms, doing all this sacrificing? Well obviously I’m doing it to remain healthy.
Okay so far, but isn’t that rather selfish? Oh yeah, I’m also doing it for my family.
That doesn’t exactly make you a saint. What about the community, what about the health-care workers putting themselves at risk, and the people working in the CVS and Giant? Well, I guess I could stretch myself to keep them healthy, but this lockdown is starting to involve a lot of inconvenience. And really bad boredom. I’m not Mother Teresa, you know!
Oh yes, I know! Let’s go on. So you manage to stay alive and healthy. Now what are you going to do with all this health? What do you mean? Something wrong with just wanting to be healthy?
Sounds like a rather limited philosophy — like wanting to have regular b.m.’s just so that you’re not constipated. It only focuses on what you don’t want (corona). Just what the hell are you insinuating???
Now don’t get your panties in a bunch! I was just wondering if you wouldn’t want to use some of this health to assist others. To deliver food or medicine to people who have tested positive, or are stuck inside on lockdown. Or to assist health-care providers so that they’re not so heavily exposed to risk — while others are not taking any risks beyond what’s unavoidable. Well I’ll think about it. Now please go away so I can watch the news.
Rob Dreyfus
Swarthmore
