Publisher’s Perspective

It’s time for us to come together

Posted

Suddenly we are a country at war with biology.

The coronavirus pandemic has taken over our lives and some of us are behaving badly. Instead of battling the outbreak with calm and resolve, some people are absolutely losing control of their brain and behavior.

Relax people. Take precautions and prepare for staying in place for a while, but by no means panic. Franklin Delano Roosevelt said it best in his inaugural address in 1933: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!”

On Saturday, the hoarders moved into H-E-B and Walmart. They were almost hysteric. One lady was assaulted by another as she went to get one packet of chicken. Before she could grab the packet out of the store freezer another female came up behind her and pulled her by the hair so she could have the chicken.

That is extreme behavior and should not be tolerated under any circumstances. More importantly, it should never even be expected. But it did—right here in our little corner of the world. What is taking place right now is anxiety over the unknown effect and duration of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of freaking out and acting like lunatics at the insane asylum we should all be pulling together to help each other get through this thing. We should be supporting each other and communicating what needs to be done and how to accomplish those goals. We cannot become a community at war with itself and each other. We need to become a community resolved to do our part in this much larger event by being prepared, informed, patient and calm. We need to comfort ourselves, our loved ones and our neighbors. This is not the time for the lunatic fringe to come unraveled over fear of the unknown.

Calm down. Breathe. Then move forward one hour and one day at a time with a plan and a purpose. 

There is plenty of information out there on how to prepare and hopefully avoid the virus. We have charts on our Facebook page. So does local and county government. Get informed. Stay focused on the mission in front of us. Take care of yourselves—but not at the expense of others. We are Americans and united we should stand. The pandemic is here; now let’s go whip its butt by taking care of what we can control. Check on your neighbors. Offer to help the elderly. Drink lots of water. It’s not that hard to look at what we can affirmatively do instead of treating each other with a mob mentality.

Another thing we can all do is show gratitude. We need to be kind and thank all the people who endured the hoarding and panic at area stores, especially at H-E-B and Walmart. They are tired and working hard to keep the shelves stocked. A nice word will go a long way.

We also need to thank all the people working at the hospital, in health care and our first responders. They are on the front line of this pandemic and will be the people who have to do the spade work in treating people who get the virus. They deserve not only our thanks but also our respect for taking on their mission in life.

And last, but certainly not least, we can pray. When you hit your knees tonight pray to our omnipotent God and pray for all of us. Pray that he takes care of all of us in Gonzales, Texas, our country and the world. We can do this, and may God bless and protect all of you during these disturbing days we are going through.

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