A take on similarities between a health crisis and political discourse
Posted
By Lisa Haskell
My philosophy regarding politics has always been a little humor (OK, sarcasm) helps the medicine go down. One of my favorite high school teachers, Marshall Trimble, taught me that valuable life lesson ... please don’t hold him accountable for anything I might say.
Humor makes the most bitter of medicines (history, math, politics) more palatable. I won’t provide the year because some factions in Scottsdale will label me an out-of-touch, drooling baby boomer who needs to be confined to a facility, another city or put down.
I fail to understand why a discussion of local issues has to be characterized according to age demographics. I know Millennials and Boomers who actually agree and mingle. Yes, make a note. Boomers and Millennials don’t necessarily like to be confined to their own species or 55-plus communities.
Since lockdown begin, I have had plenty of time to floss my cats teeth, organize my closet — eight times and regret some dubious fashion choices — knit a winter scarf from random cat hair I found around the house, cook and garden.
I also had time to ponder the fact that there are decided similarities between the COVID crisis and political discourse.
Both can make you sick and it is critical to adhere to social distancing protocols, as in hold politicians at arm’s length. Avoid being manipulated. They are not your best friends. They are your employees, something you must remind them of at the ballot box.
They’re not your enemies either, something we also need to remind ourselves of. In case you hadn’t heard, we’re all in this together. Wink, wink. I had to smile at all the folks who could not tolerate confinement one more minute or being left alone with their significant other.
Cats don’t count. They ignore you, quarantine or no quarantine.
Seems we don’t like being left to our own devices any more. We’ve forgotten how to entertain ourselves. In a social media dominated society, solitude isn’t something we seem to appreciate.
While under house arrest, I became reacquainted with simple pleasures, reading, conversing from a safe distance, taking walks and I also enjoyed the beauty of silence.
Disengaging from social media, TV, just being able to enjoy the sound of silence and the peace that comes with it. Silence is a luxury and you often don’t realize what a blessing it can be.
I have found that you can learn far more about something or someone by remaining silent rather than by becoming enamored with the sound of your own voice. This is especially applicable in the political arena.
OK, so brevity isn’t my strong point when it comes to the written word.
While left to my own devices, I also reacquainted myself with a seldom used room in my house. The kitchen.
I discovered things Martha Stewart failed to mention. The perils of packaging.
I didn’t realize that there are apparently three levels of security you must penetrate in order to open a package of Oreos, pickles etc.
I became so frustrated I decided a hammer was the only feasible option. I didn’t stockpile any explosives. Hand sanitizer and toilet paper took up all available storage space. So, to all you soon-to-be-unemployed college grads, you might want to consider a career in package design.
After the horrific experience of arm wrestling perfect strangers for the last roll of toilet paper, bag of cat litter, bottle of hand sanitizer and various edibles, I decided it was time to grow my own, something I have long advocated.
Gardens need to make a comeback. With the emphasis Millennials place on all things organic, why not grow your own?
This is something Millennials and Boomers should be able to embrace from both a cost and health perspective.
With the growing number of unemployed, homeless and the additional stress placed on food banks, perhaps before all available land is forever lost to development (pre-COVID), we can preserve some much needed open space for growing something other than high rise communities. And besides, you’ll be prepared for the next pandemic.
You won’t have to degrade yourself by prying the last organic carrot from the hands of an 80-year-old.
Finally, to all the developers who have fled town like scooters on a Scottsdale street, when the economic effects of the COVID crisis subside in 15-20 years (?), and you return with grandiose plans to transform the desert landscape into a high rise cement metropolis, remember three things: water, climate and residents.
I suspect your list may look a bit different from mine.
The negatives associated with living in congested cities filled with high rise cubicles should be obvious after COVID.
To all the profit-hungry investors and developers who “gentrified” residents out of town to make a profit, to all/some of the vacation rental businesses that transformed housing opportunities into for-profit opportunities with little regard for neighbors, what goes around, comes around. Karma and COVID.
The great equalizers. It should not take a pandemic to force us to reconsider priorities.
As for residents? Remember, we’re all in this together. OK, Some of us are more “in” than others. You can do your part by electing candidates who represent your interests rather than those of the development community.
Your vote is your hammer. It is sad it took something like COVID to put the brakes on the train. Possibly it will allow us to pause and consider residents interests once again and consider more creative alternatives for designing the Scottsdale of tomorrow.
One more thing. Remember to cough into your elbow.
