Posted on 05/05/2020 2:32:42 PM PDT by Kaslin
The unbelievable situation we find ourselves in is the stuff of science fiction novels and apocalyptic thrillers.
When the Wuhan Flu or Coronavirus or COVID-19 or whatever you want to call it hit the shores of the Red, White, and Blue we had no idea what would happen. No one did. They all used computer models, which turned out to be false to terrorize Americans and the world into submission. They succeeded.
Depending on your location you have endured whatever edict came from your state capitol. In the name of “Flattening the Curve” and saving lives we all got in line. We stayed at home. We let the government close down virtually all small businesses while hand picking a few to deem them essential. Restaurants, bars, hair salons, local flower shops, bakeries, and more were all forced to close and most still are.
It hurt some of us to watch ‘Big Box Stores’ thrive and boom knowing it was the nail being pounded into the coffin of our friends and neighbor’s small business. No amount of government aid will save many of them.
Virtually all schools were closed sending the nations children and academics online and forcing most parents to become teachers’ aides while also perhaps trying to keep doing their own job from home.
Millions of others filed for unemployment as they watched their jobs disappear. Will they come back? That is a very real stress that weighs heavy and takes the fun out of being locked up in your house indefinitely.
The city parks were closed. Virtually all large events and even baseball was cancelled! Roads were empty, gas prices plummeted, as we all cowered before an unknown fear.
So here we are. The models have all been altered. The curve has been flattened maybe, who knows for sure? Across the nation governors are talking about reopening the nation as a general unrest amongst the citizenry is palpable.
People are still uneasy. They are divided, and unsure. Even your doctor or nurse friends are unsure what to do next. Everyone is tired, but literally no one wants to put people at risk after all that we’ve done.
Like the third movie in a trilogy it comes slinking across social media. Part 1 was called, The Lockdown: Stay Home Save Lives. Part 2, The Struggle: We’re All in This Together, and finally Part 3 is, The New Normal – Things Will Never Be the Same.
This is where I cry out. Screw that! No, we will not have a new normal! The old normal was just fine.
America will not accept a new normal. Try as you might to push that agenda, I don’t believe it will sell. Americans have been surprisingly compliant as we watched virtually all of our God and constitutionally-given rights trampled. We came together to face an unknown fear. An unstoppable death, but people have had enough.
A growing number are venturing out and defying orders even opening back up in some cases without permission. Lockdown loving governors are even seeing protests in their capitols as house arrest orders are beginning to weigh heavily on freedom -oving patriots.
It is becoming increasingly unsure whether the lockdown was even the correct thing to do. As that thought settles into the back of the minds of those who have lost their jobs, their businesses, or even just the missed the Senior Prom, anger and mistrust of our government takes root. When this all began, I worried it would make it easier for the government to do it again in the future and especially our young people will be conditioned to accept it. I’m not so sure now. I think it may fall into the category of something to never do again.
People say we must accept the new normal. No, no we don’t.
If you try to tell me we won’t fill baseball stadiums again or enjoy an Oktoberfest or give hugs or visit our friends or eat in a restaurant or sit in a work meeting face to face or go whichever direction we want down the aisles at a grocery store or go mask free to show the world your smile or fly in planes or visit church or amusement parks or beaches and on and on….I say no.
Americans will not give all that up. We will not submit to wearing masks indefinitely. We will not give up all that is wonderful about our amazing nation and world. There should not be a new normal.
People are willing to risk getting sick to gain herd immunity. Brilliant people work night and day to find cures or vaccines. We won’t rest till it’s done, but some of us are already there.
I shook hands with a man yesterday and I liked it.
In my full-time career, I am a realtor and a contractor. I work with stereotypical construction type guys. I met an excavator at a job site to talk over a few things about the upcoming project. He’s a big man. A rough looking man, who wears an old flannel and an ancient ball cap. He drives a big truck and works with full sized Tonka toys for a living. I’ve known him for years but haven’t seen him face to face in six months.
He walked right up to me and stuck his hand out like Americans do. I tried to hide the fear on my face. I hadn’t shaken anyone’s hand since February. I could have pulled away and said something like, hey elbows! But I didn’t. I just went for it and grasped his big hand and tightly squeezed while sharing eye contact like me dad taught me do. It felt good. I guess we may have shared the virus to each other, but maybe not. Time will tell, but I knew at that moment, accepting the new normal mantra is a non-starter for Americans.
It’s time to shake hands and fire up the engines of this great nation. We’ve been through worse. We’ll get through this.
I’ve been shaking hands with people since April 24. Would be hugging people too, but have limited that to family for now, as I don’t want anyone to think some stranger is making a move on them. :-)
I’m ready. TTSHA. (Time to shake hands again.)
Sounds as if he liked that big feller just a bit too much, IYKWIMAITYD.
We chuckle at this article, but I’ll bet a whole lotta people will be going through the same emotional struggle:
“To shake, or Not to shake? That is the question”
And you better not take too long to make a decision either.
Two seconds of time to decide, tops.
Even Pres. Trump suggested that we would be better off without handshaking. (He talked about that at one of the Task Force briefings.) Not just for the CCP Virus crisis; but, forever. Deaths from ordinary seasonal flu could be greatly reduced, by the simple expedient of avoiding handshaking.
The cultural practice of handshaking got started as a way of ensuring that the other person wasn’t carrying a weapon. You grabbed on and held tightly to control the weapon hand. As a lefty, that’s always amused me — I’ve got your weapon hand; but, mine’s still free. Making handshaking a common cultural practice was a sinister (as in left-handed) plot to take over the world.
I shook a hand and I liked it
Hope the lockdown cops won’t mind it....
Last week I saw a friend I hadn’t seen in a at least two months at the local big box dept store. We never really shook hands before, always a fist bump.
When we saw each other, we both smiled and did a fist bump. I don’t care if half the people nearby had a horrified look on their face when we did. If felt great. I saw at least one group of people take off their masks shortly after, as soon as they did, they smiled and laughed.
The horror....the horror.
I hope you’re not here in the Northeast. :)
When the bars reopen, gonna be a lot more than hands shaking!
I lost my mom on Saturday and yesterday my brother and I went to finalize arrangements for her. When I met the funeral director, I just stuck out my hand to shake his. It never even occurred to me not to do so and he reciprocated immediately. Later, my brother and I were sitting in a conference room and it then occurred to me that I shook hands with the funeral director. I told my brother 'I shook hands with Harry' and he said he had too.
No...there is no new normal. What we've experienced in these past few weeks is totally ABNORMAL and I'm not interested in carrying the abnormal forward and I will not do so.
If we are to reestablish American normal, we must act and react normally. And we'll have to do it in spite of the 'hair on fire', leftist government
‘People are willing to risk getting sick to gain herd immunity.’
i have serious doubts about that, looking at all the compliant sheeple at the grocery store today, all masked and lined up outside, because you know, if on additional person goes in the store, we’ll all drop dead...
That’s so gay.
What the heck does that word jumble stand for? :)
IYKWIMAITYD. If You Know What I Mean, And I Think You Do.
:D
I'll pay more at Giant Eagle (our local Kroger's affiliate) or Dollar General just to avoid the crowd at Wally World.
I hugged a client and friend last week, that I had not seen in over a year. He is 80 and we hugged!
Last night I dreamed I hugged President Trump, I am not kidding, in my dream we were in a small meeting some where and after the meeting I went up to him shook his hand and gave him a hug!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.