There are so many creative posts to
facebook lately, and just as many that are hurtful such as warnings to NOT buy
products from the Chinese. Really? Someone has the odyssey to promote bigotry during
these trying times. I would think the
citizens of China have even less to say about their government than do US
citizens. Though there are Trump
supporters and followers many Americans are just as offended by his lack of
leadership skills or lack of compassion as perhaps citizens of other countries
are ashamed. In China it is against the
law to cross the government whereas in the USA citizens have the right to voice
their opinions and even criticize the government without being arrested. This pandemic is not the fault of the Chinese
citizens. They are victims just as much
as anybody. They did not choose to
become guinea pigs of some governmental experience anymore than soldiers of
this country when fighting in Vietnam chose to become victims to agent orange
from 1962 to 1971.
People make mistakes. Leaders make mistakes. It happens.
As of now we are not or should not pit country against country. We are not against one another (as a whole –
I know Trump has said many things that have offended those outside of the
U.S. But trust me, he has offended just
as many American citizens with his sometimes childish but mostly idiotic
behavior) as we are all fighting the same demon regardless of where it
originated. Let’s not throw bigotry into
the mix as well.
I have some friends who live in fear as
well as isolation . I have other friends
who are skeptics and view this entire pandemic as a hoax staged for an upcoming
election. There is so much out there –
some truths, others misinterpretations of the truth, still others that are bold
faced lies. I don’t even know what to
believe anymore and may think of this as a hoax myself except for the church’s
involvement.
When else in history has the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or any other denomination) closed its
doors? The church had announced the cancellation
of all meetings before the government did.
They have closed the temples. Seamstresses
who worked on temple clothes have been asked to sew masks. Other organizations have put their teams to
work for sewing masks. Even when the
leaders are fooled into thinking the pandemic is over, it won’t be over. If we’re not careful it will sneak upon us
and perhaps become worse for it is than it is right now.
Let us not cast blame. Blame doesn’t solve anything. We need to be cautious of the disease not
necessarily one another. We need each other’s
support not prejudices. We are in this
together. Let us remember the children
of Israel who made it out of darkness after the first Passover. Let us remember the citizens of Jerusalem and
around the world who came out of darkness after the first Easter’s
resurrection. We too will come out of darkness. But we have to lift one another into the
light. If we point fingers or cast
stones at one another, it will only prolong the darkness.