Over a month ago I warned about the dangers of opening Texas after visiting a park location shortly after our leaders initiated the reopening of Texas.
Part of our requirements for reopening detailed people gathering at parks in small numbers with social distancing and the suggestion to wear a face mask. However, wearing a mask and social distancing were soon forgotten as people hit the sun.
Today we are finding that a large number of younger Texans are getting COVID-19 and it isn’t surprising. Greg Abbott never followed through with any of the consequences for people breaking protocols set by the CDC. In all honesty, he did not follow those guidelines. Texas never saw the decline in cases that should have preceded any sort of reopening. Abbott and others like him blindly followed Trump. They did so at the risk of our lives and countless others.
At minimum the government should have mandated mask and a safe path towards reopening. This has been a very confusing time for my own young adult children. I have three children ages 14 to 22. The 18 and 22 year old have struggled with Governor Mom, yes I like others, had to become the official, serving in my household. Okay, maybe not official, but I had to certainty put my own rules in place. It has been difficult at times, the Black Lives Matter protest was a big issue and my girls wanted to be right in the thick of it.
All I could do was go by the numbers I had been studying on a daily basis and do my best to explain why the protest would be a health threat. At times I felt hard-pressed because I am black and I wanted to very much be part of the movement. However, my 14 yr old has lung issues due to childhood illnesses. My at risk person is my child, so I stayed put. My girls also stayed put because they did not like my 14 day self isolation rule if they went to the protest. We ended up staying at home and joining other KPOP lovers by drowning out racist tweets. It wasn’t the same as walking in the streets, but it was our way of standing up for something bigger than ourselves. Take the racist tweets out one by one!
This brings me to the whole idea of partisanship. You can be part of something or a group and still have a voice. It is up to us to elect people who can be bipartisan. Right now partisanship is our biggest threat because it is forcing people to pick sides. They are putting ideology over commonsense. You cannot lead a household this way, nor can you lead a country in this manner. Partisanship stops progress because it deletes others from being able to voice their concerns and have them taken into consideration. Think back to the start of Coronavirus in the US. Have you seen both groups ever really come together in a bipartisan way? The answer is NO. We are a country divided to the core. Our leaders are divided and estranged from each other.
Frankly, I am feeling very discouraged because there is a lack of guidance. It not only creates problems in our country, but also in our households. It is enough to make a person pause and wonder what comes next?
Shellzonit 