Forget ‘new normal’
Amidst all the chaos of the past six months, the emerging buzz words include the phrase “new normal.” I contend that we should forget that phrase just as quickly as it started and simply get back to living.
First off, I do believe that COVID-19 is a real virus and that it is a risk to a small percentage of the most vulnerable in our population. And I hope it goes without saying that I certainly don’t want people to have to suffer from this or any other disease. That being said, perhaps there are more ways to look at what has happened to our nation and our world as a result of our handling of the disease.
According to the CDC’s most recent data, 176,617 people in the United Stastes have died from COVID-19. I would like to put an asterisk by that because, by now, I’m sure most everyone has heard of someone who had multiple health issues leading up to their death but it was, nonetheless, labeled as COVID-19, perhaps partially because the government has promised to pay hospitals $29,000 per COVID-19 death. Research into this number has actually found those falsifications on numerous occasions and I’m sure we’ve not heard the end of it yet. We also know somebody who never even took the test but got a letter saying they were positive—so again the numbers may not be accurate.
For arguments sake, let’s go with the number presented by the Centers for Disease Centrol and Prevention. In comparison, heart disease kills almost 650,000 annually followed closely by cancer at 600,000. Accidental deaths are at 170,000 and stroke and respiratory diseases each hover around the 150,000 mark. Are we shutting down the world to implement mandatory exercise programs and retrain folks on how to eat? A good start to that would be to toss out the U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines and go back to a healthy diet.
Many of us don’t want to think about or discuss death but it is, literally, a fact of life. While many of the causes of death can perhaps be reduced through lifestyle changes, it is nonetheless inevitable that we will not spend eternity here on earth. Should we be vigilant in our pursuit to be healthy? Sure but should we compromise our life and our livelihood in search of something we may have no control over—I don’t think so! What’s the point of being alive if we can’t live.
Our shutdowns, our cancellations, our overabundance of presumed safety measures, many of which have proven to be completely ineffective, are not flattening the curve of the disease but instead flattening our economy, flattening our optimism and flattening the opportunities for our kids. If you don’t believe that choosing to keep on living life as we know it can be effective, just look at South Dakota. Under the leadership of Gov. Kristi Noem, South Dakotans refused to cancel everything and kill their state’s economy and look at them now.
I want to discuss the side effects of this shut down on a far more personal level. As a youth group leader, I have had in-depth discussions with the high schoolers in my group. They survived one round of eliminating all those things that are important to teenagers but I feel strongly that they won’t do so well if we go through any kind of mandatory shutdown or cancellation again. Teen suicides have skyrocketed and we are not helping that situation by taking away the things that make life worth living for these kids. While we should use common sense in going forward, we must get this ship righted and give back what is necessary for life for these kids who so revolve around social interaction and competition. We’ve taken away what makes them tick so how can we expect them to keep getting up in the morning when we, as adults, don’t even know how to navigate this insanity?
On the opposite spectrum are the folks living in isolation in senior care facilities and they have been stripped of hugs and affection from the very family members that give them a reason to keep living. Our daughter started working in a senior facility during the shut down and she sees the sadness and discouragement firsthand. A good friend lost his mother who was battling cancer in a nursing home because she didn’t have the hands-on love, encouragement and support that she needed to face the battle on her own so she just gave up. How heartbreaking to think they could have shared many more wonderful memories with her but were forced to let her die alone.
Our families have been without incomes (except an occasional stimulus check) and jobs, our businesses have shut their doors because they can’t pay their bills or find employees willing to work for less than they are making from unemployment, locker plants are overflowing with meat for people who think they’ll never be able to buy food again, grocery store shelves are still lacking many items and people are just losing hope that we will ever get this behind us because of the constant media barrage of “upcoming surges” and continual scare tactics.
I believe God has a plan for each of our lives. If COVID-19 is going to take us, then perhaps it is his will. We have spent millions of dollars on masks and protective gear and we have not stopped it so I truly believe that if we don’t just say “enough is enough” and get back to living, not only will statues and monuments be destroyed but the whole fabric of our great nation will continue to unravel. Let’s save our kids and our cherished elders. Let’s do the right thing. Let’s get back to life.
Editor’s note: Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.LoosTales.com, or email Trent at [email protected].
