Thank you kindly for your support. A number of my friends/neighbors think I am being too cautious (and I live in Manhattan, which was originally the epicenter of the virus in America) but I don't care -- this virus is too deadly to play around with. So happy that your family has not contracted the virus although what a pain this is for your family everytime your young child gets sick (and at that age they constantly do). Regarding colleges, even touching the banisters on stairways or faucets in shared bathrooms or inhaling aerosoled steamy air from showers could lead to potential transmission never mind simply walking down shared hallways or dining halls. Also, in classrooms, is one supposed to participate in class with a mask on? Will the professor lecture with/without a mask on? I can see a million points of vulnerability for all concerned. I understand that money makes the world go round and keeps institutions standing...but try seeing a young child have a stroke because of this...personally I couldn't live with myself if I put my child in such danger when it could have been avoided...Since your child is in primary school, are there any remote options for you such as home schooling?
The situation in Arizona is heartbreaking. I think of all of you and send prayers, prayers, prayers. But the nay sayers...aaaarggghhhhh!
Bernie Sanders once suggested a terrific idea to make Capitalism work for the masses and for social good: Take a small piece of every stock & bond transaction on the Exchanges (like $1-2.00 per trade -- no one would care about that small amount) and direct that daily monetary flow toward Social Security, funding Higher Education, Universal Healthcare, etc. This would represent an enormous amount of daily monetary infusion into selected social programs since the Exchanges make millions of trades each and every day. The American Stock Exchange is rallying now which only benefits the wealthy despite Main Street's economic devastation. There is a major disconnect here. Some of our more progressive Candidates (like Bernie) see the potential to make our dynamic Capitalist infrastructure work for everyone. Capitalism needs to evolve to a higher place. The Exchanges are our "work horses" -- make them work to benefit everyone.
.You can't distinguish a cold from the Coronavirus in the early stages (wring hands)
Such a simple but extremely important reminder. As we head into flu and cold season I cannot even begin to imagine the sress that will be faced by teachers and parents.
Even preschools here in Oregon have rules about sending children to school with a fever. But working parents keep rationalizing "it's just a cold ". Now, even a fever might not be a viable defining factor since so many have not experienced one before testing positive.
Here, in the U.S. where cases are skyrocketing again, choices and decisions made by all will affect the very survival of many of us in the months (even years) ahead.
Stay safe, stay healthy, stay as sane as you can everyone! We can get through this but we have to stay really, really smart and really, really careful ?
@isabelle I agree with that thought process and I know that although kids will be in campus not everything will be in class. What’s the point? Unfortunately both my kids have chosen majors that require them to participate in person. Currently my daughter has incomplete because she (and all of her classmates) haven’t completed clinical. They didn’t apply her scholarship because of the incomplete grade. That can be fixed but my kids health may not be. My heart is sick because we’ve been so careful. We live in NJ and people are out and about, way too close. They do wear masks but not at the shore. I don’t understand. Virus lives there too. I just pray and look around and shake my head. People feel entitled. They want it to be over. Not realistic or wise. I just hope and pray I’ve taught my kids well. I believe they have a healthy respect for what is happening to all people of all ages. I told them they need to watch out for themselves and act with caution. It’s much like relearning how to live in a new way. Sending prayers and light to all who are responsible for setting policy in schools, work and government. Peace ☮️
They plan to "pause shielding" in UK. Personally I have very bad feelings about it. Especially since people now started to act as if Corona has passed.
I'm in Oregon and have never seen or even heard this in the news or from others.
Considering that school is months away and no decisions have been decided here officially I am wondering if your friend lives in the parts of our states that never saw COVID-19 and if college might be one of our many outlying community colleges or extensions. Many areas are almost COVID free.
But again, no decisions have been made officially. As parents we can react and even instantly overreact to almost everything that affects our children even when we don't have the facts yet.
I am so sorry. I cannot even begin to imagine how you are getting through this. In Oregon we went up to almost 200 cases a day.
Living in these challenging times is so far beyond even the word "challenging". Decisions now affect so much more than anyone who still scoffs at the science and the facts and the sheer absurdity of politics over plain old common sense.
Bernie Sanders once suggested a terrific idea to make Capitalism work for the masses and for social good: Take a small piece of every stock & bond transaction on the Exchanges (like $1-2.00 per trade -- no one would care about that small amount) and direct that daily monetary flow toward Social Security, funding Higher Education, Universal Healthcare, etc. This would represent an enormous amount of daily monetary infusion into selected social programs since the Exchanges make millions of trades each and every day. The American Stock Exchange is rallying now which only benefits the wealthy despite Main Street's economic devastation. There is a major disconnect here. Some of our more progressive Candidates (like Bernie) see the potential to make our dynamic Capitalist infrastructure work for everyone. Capitalism needs to evolve to a higher place. The Exchanges are our "work horses" -- make them work to benefit everyone.
A great idea. And you would think that 1-2 dollars would not be so difficult to part with. But greed knows no bounds.
Greed is an addiction to keeping it all for yourself. The most powerful dark influencers in the world make more money in an hour than most make in a year. Yet they continue to cling to every penny. They live in the Fourth Circle of hell, well described by Dante in The Inferno. While Dante had them suffering for their sins after they died, they are suffering for their cruelties while living.
Here, in the U.S. where cases are skyrocketing again, choices and decisions made by all will affect the very survival of many of us in the months (even years) ahead.
I think you've hit upon what COVID-19 is about and the lessons it holds for humanity, Michele. Yes, every one of our decisions, among both Americans and non-Americans, has bearing on how COVID-19 plays out. But it's not just the novel coronavirus we have to deal with. There's the biospheric crisis, which encompasses global warming, mass species extinction, soil erosion, peak phosphate, you name it, all at the expense of individual human self-interest. Every single one of our private decisions - what materials we hoard in our homes; what we eat; where we go on vacation; even our own private thoughts - will effect the global picture. So electing progressive politicians is all fine and well, but we're really not going to mend the earth unless Every. Single. One of us takes a hard look at our personal lives, acknowledges the ripples we create on a daily basis, and takes action to make those ripples gentler.
Your description of dark influencers matches exactly what a wetiko spirit is. As you probably know, wetiko isn't born from thin air, and it won't go away because a superhero decided to swoop in to the rescue. As I illustrated in my response to Michele, we can start eradicating wetiko by taking a hard look at our own psyches, owning up to our shadows, and transmuting the darkness into light. I like this formula because it allows for individual agency, as opposed to waiting on a savior politician. After all, the Windigo-in-Chief styled himself as a savior who would solve all of our problems if we just voted for him. That rhetorical blueprint came from just about all of the preceding heads of governments in modern democracies, which is why I think our conception of leadership has to change (but that's a topic for later).