Because everywhere we are all experiencing something remarkably similar. COVID-19 has taken away our vastly different habits and routines and replaced them with the singular experience of uncertainty.
It’s unclear how this will play out. Will social isolation slow the spread of the virus? Will the economy bounce back or sink into a recession or worse? We don’t know. But we are united – connected – in this experience.
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To be sure, we all have different roles to play. I am in awe of the brave doctors, nurses and public safety workers on the front lines. I am grateful for the grocery clerks, postal workers, truckers and delivery drivers who make sure we have daily necessities. I am inspired by the ingenuity of local leaders as they try to help institutions and businesses survive this crisis. And I am honored to be part of the local media as we try to keep our community informed – and connected.
That's why I'm writing today. This column is an invitation to you – readers, teachers, parents, business owners, workers, community leaders, retirees, high school students — anyone who wants to share their ideas, hopes and fears about how we work together through this crisis.
Connection is a double-edged sword. It’s what made us vulnerable to this virus in the first place. But it’s also what gives us the power to fight it and to fight the impact and aftermath the virus may have on our community.
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This community has been through so much. But each crisis just made us stronger, just made us that much more connected. The Oregon District shooting lasted one and a half minutes, the Memorial Day tornadoes a couple of hours. This a slow-moving crisis that has no end in sight. But we can fight our own fears and our uncertainty through our connection to each other.
Please join the effort by sharing your ideas with us. You can send us a paragraph or a column. We'll publish as many of them as we can over the coming weeks. Send it to Ronald.Rollins@coxinc.com
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