This is a call out to all of us to move past the fear mindset that beset us back in March. I don’t want to argue with you about the statistics and what they mean. We’ve all had plenty of those debates at this point. No, I want to talk with you about how we go from here.
In the grand scheme of human history, we have survived many, many of these pandemics. We’ve also lived through major wars, depressions, famines, droughts, hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes, and every other kind of calamity one can think of. In EVERY case, we somehow survived. Things might have changed afterward. None-the-less, we still managed to continue.
However, until this year, we never shut everything down and stopped doing pretty much anything but watching Tiger King. Rather, people went about their business and eventually the great disruption ceased to disrupt.
That’s pretty much where we are right now. The worst is over. But you’d never know it if you read or watched the news. For some reason they want to keep us all in fear. While people are indeed still getting sick, and that’s obviously tragic, the number of deaths in the United States and everywhere else in the world have dropped substantially, whether it was a place that required you where a mask or not. Why are we still doing this to ourselves? For the life of me, I can’t understand it.
So, here is my challenge to you.
Join the Living
Unless you are among the most vulnerable, it’s time we stop putting our lives on hold. It is time we go out and be amongst others. We need to allow our kids back into schools to play with one another. Let churches have their worship services. Allow football games to be played, and concerts to be held, on Friday nights. Go out to your local businesses and drop your dollars there instead of Amazon. We need to stop walking around and treating everyone as a threat and instead start treating them as a neighbor, like we used to. THIS should be our “new normal.”
Businesses: Think of New Ways You Can Do Business
During this time, you have everyone’s permission to do things differently. This is the best time in the world to reimagine your workforce. Rather than letting people go, repurpose them. Have them doing new things that align with your new business model. Find other revenue streams that will make your company more resilient to the lean times that will inevitably come again. If you can afford it at all, hire one more person. We don’t need more people on unemployment!
Have Happy Hours in Person Instead of On Zoom
Screen time with someone is no replacement for face time. Even if you don’t want to shake hands or hug your friends or co-workers yet, you can at least look into their eyes and smile. There’s something about personal proximity that creates bonds that talking to a person online or over the phone can’t do. It’s how business deals are made, relationships are formed, and fun is had.
Buy American
If there has been anything good to come out of this pandemic, it is the sharp realization of just how much we have over-relied on other countries to sell us things we used to make at home. Not only are our pharmaceuticals and technology made elsewhere, so is virtually everything else. Maybe U.S. made products cost a little more, but isn’t it worth it to know that your money is going to help another American feed their family? While it is hard to find things made in the U.S.A., there are websites out there that are making that easier than it used to be. Here are three that I found:
https://clark.com/shopping-retail/american-made-in-the-usa/
https://madeinamericastore.com/
If you’re in a store looking to buy something new, ask the salesperson if it’s made in America. Request a contractor working on your home to do as much as possible with American products. It’s time to fix this problem by creating the demand for companies to bring their manufacturing home.
With all that said, don’t you want to live in the land of the free and home of the brave again? I do. I hope you do, too.