Diary 20
Tuesday, April 7th
Today came the news that Russo’s, our local grocery store, the one with the heaps of fresh veggies temptingly laid out for all the wonder at, has not only ceased deliveries but has ceased operating altogether. It can’t be for lack of custom, the place was mobbed last time we were there, everyone looking furtive in their masks. I think they simply decided that they couldn’t cope. Perhaps a staffer came down with covid-19. We may never know. Still, a major loss in this community.
On a Zoom call with a friend in England I was able to get a slightly different perspective on the general situation. They, too, were slow to react. In fact my chum reported that he’d had a jokey exchange with a friend of his when they’d almost shaken hands but chosen to do an elbow bump instead. They went on to have a hilarious evening in The Rose and Crown. The friend returned to his home. Two days later he came down with severe covid-19. That was a month ago. He’s just got out of hospital. My friend was, and remains, fine.
What we discussed in our Zoom chat was what the shape of society might be when all this has settled down again. We agreed that the talents required for running a successful business are not the same as those needed to run a country. A business must make money, or it ceases to be. In contrast a country depends heavily upon creating and maintaining a culture, a way of being that is stable, compassionate, and serves the needs of the citizens. One might say that its task is to create peace. In England the shortfall of medical staff created a response in which half a million citizens volunteered to help at hospitals and care centers. They are now being used as a major resource. I don’t know how sensible this is. I do know that it was a considerable out-pouring of care for others. The motive was not monetary.
Let’s put it this way: if we get rich but live in a society that increasingly does not care for others, I’m not convinced we’ve got a good deal.
Meanwhile I have to note that the Wisconsin elections were rendered all but impossible by the refusal to allow postal voting and by the closure of all but 5 polling stations in Milwaukee. In a time of corona virus, to have people waiting in lines for two hours and more is not sensible. It’s been called gross voter suppression. Yes. I’d have to agree with that.
