This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship. Each week I look for themes and topics that challenge us to grow in our knowledge of American civics and citizenship. This week, I’m at a loss for words. The news would have us believe that America is standing on the street corner of Fear Avenue and Crazy Lane.
We’ve covered the Coronavirus, or COVID-19 here on this page. We know we’re not supposed to hoard toilet paper, hand sanitizer, or anything else because it causes panic and hurts our neighbors. Why are people hoarding toilet paper? Most likely, because we heard that we can’t get any. I went to a small store, found a pack of 4 rolls, and put it aside, just in case. I don’t need 28 rolls… especially when the lady down the street has 8 kids and is potty training a toddler. Know what I’m sayin’?
Why are we like this? Or what has gotten into us? We have an entire website that gives us up-to-the-minute information on the virus. We’ve got a lot more than the people in 1918 had during the Spanish Flu pandemic. We can’t find hand sanitizer anywhere. We have soap, but we want sanitizer STAT. If you have isopropyl alcohol and some aloe (like you would have for a sunburn), you can mix them together and make your own. We are Americans. We know how to do this. What has gotten into us? I mean, what badge do we wear if we have 45 bottles of hand sanitizer and our neighbor has none?
It’s easy to blame the media, but this one is on us. No one is pinning us to the corner of Fear Avenue and Crazy Lane. We can walk away any time and head over to Sanity Street. We can’t control the Coronavirus, but we can control our reaction to it. We can make a simple strategic plan. We can check the Centers For Disease Control (cdc.gov or coronavirus.gov). We can choose maturity over emotionality.
We can. This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship.??
