Just before Patrick Henry said his famous line, “Give me liberty or give me death” he said, “Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone.”
In the April 9 issue of the CVN, a letter to the editor titled “Our rights are threatened by fear,” the author wrote phrases such as: I want, I could, I would, I choose—but staying home to prevent the spread of COVID-19 isn’t just about keeping you safe. It’s about all of us.
I’m young and healthy. I’m not personally in danger. But I’m self-isolating to protect others in this community.
You’re absolutely right to be concerned about neighbor turning against neighbor.
When we lose sight of our community, we turn against one another. When you see a neighbor, think to yourself, “Do I care if they get coronavirus?” If the answer is no, that is “neighbor turning against neighbor.” That’s why we should take social distancing seriously, not simply to keep ourselves safe.
It’s about all of us.
Join the support initiative, call a neighbor you haven’t talked to in a while, heck, try live video yoga. By all means practice your religious freedom—even Jesus was tested for forty days alone in the wilderness.
Haines is a long way from succumbing to fear.
Joe Aultman-Moore