The Audacity

I am going to say something rash.

At a time when unity of action is critically important across the whole of society--we can ill afford all the mind numbing rhetoric, imbecilic posturing, fear mongering, disinformation and objectification of each of us through divisiveness and unproductive polarization.

Despite all the stimulating intellectual finger pointing, might we just accept that we need to do something different. Maybe call time out, let our differences sit quietly to the side and, then, just get er done.

Ok, I feel better. Now go back to whatever you were doing--or do something different. Up to you, and you, and you.

***For context***

Since December 2019, I have watched this situation unfold partly out of curiosity and partly because in a past life I was a strategic intelligence planner who just happened to have gotten fixated on Pandemics for all the reasons we see unfolding today.

I originally posted this on two other sites about a week ago.  I did it as, globally, we watched the COVID-19 Pandemic unfold before us.  I did it watching the yin and yang between fact based information and false narratives, mixed messaging and misleading information permeating the landscape and fueling the fear, anxiety and emotions of each of us.  The factual and scientific attempts to just let us know--confronted by the sensationalism that sells.  The examples of good people just trying to make a difference, competing with the nay sayers and hate mongers hell bent on taking a contrarian view at every step.

I wrote this having first hand knowledge of past epidemics and yes, even a little Pandemic.

I wrote this knowing that it does none of us any good to allow those who wish to befuddle ourselves down a path of divisiveness--because in the end that will only lead us to nothing productive.

I wrote this knowing that the news is now on full "alert" 24/7 reporting on this like it is a sporting event with breaking news and minute by minute commentary.

I wrote this knowing full well I have friends on the left and friends on the right.

I wrote this knowing that I work in a scientific community and don't have a PhD nor am I a scientist.

I wrote this knowing that I have friends who are religious, friends who are spiritual, friends who are agnostic, friends who are atheist, and others who just might be unsure of where they sit on the proverbial fence.

I wrote this knowing that I have friends who are male, friends who are female, friends who are straight, friends who are gay. 

I wrote this because I have friends that I care deeply for, regardless of any of our differences.

In a time of crisis, rather than arm chair quarterback this at every step, rather than pontificate the old and stale messages of hate (not disagreement/but outright hate), I wrote this to say we can rise about it all and be better in this moment.

I wrote this in a hope that sometime in the distant time horizon, the generations of the future will simply look back and say: "Wow, what a great assimilation of humans, cross generational yet humans one and all.  I am proud of how they came together at a time of crisis and responded for the good of mankind.  I am glad that they did what they did so that we are here today benefiting from the fact that they set their differences aside and rallied with unity to respond to and solve the challenge of their day."

So I will end this the same way I did in the previous post:  "Ok, I feel better. Now go back to whatever you were doing--or do something different. Up to you, and you, and you. "