Past Panic: Perspective during COVID-19
By: Kristen Oaks-White, This Week in Louisiana Agriculture Co-Host
I’m living history in 2020 — I mean, true history, the kind of events that people will tell their children and grandchildren about for generations to come — the Great Depression, the Kennedy assassination, 9/11. Living and moving among us is an entity we have only studied about in school or read about in historical novels: a pandemic.
A pandemic crosses the boundaries of countries, states, and towns, not discriminating by race or gender, and in doing so, it changes all aspects of our lives. The coronavirus, the agent of the pandemic, has changed mine and has altered the very way I perceive the world.
I like to talk to people. I might tap them on the shoulder when I think I’ve made a point or give a good-natured shove when they have. Not any more. Legally we have been charged to “socially distance” ourselves six feet apart. The distance does not come into play just with other people, but with our favorite places. Places of business are closed (my gym!), schools are empty, and roads, usually clogged with traffic, are eerily empty. Even churches have broken their services into small meetings or resorted to online services. It is a silent world we inhabit. The response to the Covid-19 pandemic has infiltrated every aspect of our lives, and we already long for it to end. But this fight may not end for months or a year or even more.
However, even with my frustrations of being stuck at home after only a week of bizarre changes, I have developed new perspectives. I’ve come to a few sobering realizations about life as we know it in the age of the Covid-19:
This. Is. Not. A. Hoax. This is not fake news; this is not a political tactic orchestrated by another country or political party to enact chaos. This disease is real. Worldwide, more than 8,000 people have died from the coronavirus, and that number will only increase in the days and months to come. This disease does not discriminate based upon sex, race, age, or political affiliation. I have acquaintances fighting this virus, so I have learned to seek facts instead of political fiction.
One fact is that COVID-19 is highly contagious, spreading through "respiratory droplets" (a cough, sneeze, transfer of saliva) and contaminated objects, like a door handle or other shared surfaces. Person-to-person spread means one can trace how the disease got from one person to another through direct contact, like shaking hands. Community spread refers to people in the same location contracting the virus without an obvious chain of events. This is why social distancing is so very critical and important right now. Yes, it is uncomfortable, unusual and inconvenient… but it works, and it’s a must-do for all of us to help flatten the curve.
I’ve learned to appreciate health-care providers more than I ever have. While most people are understandably focused on their own health and that of their loved ones, there are doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other healthcare professionals that are on the front lines looking out for their entire communities. Public health and safety is the main concern for these heroes who are more likely to wear scrubs than capes. These men and women care for the vulnerable and risk their own health each day.
I’ve learned that social media can help us connect with our friends and family by giving virtual hugs and sending heartfelt messages when we can’t be face-to-face. Yes, I value “my people” more.
I have also seen, and if the number of memes on social media is any indication that others have too, that the educators who take care of your children for most of the year are being recognized for the difficult service they provide. As schools close across the country and students are staying home, parents have had to step in as educators — and it has opened their eyes to the challenges teachers face every day. Not only do they educate the children, they take care of them for most of the day. Sometimes they counsel students from broken homes, feed children who do not receive meals at home, and inspire and motivate children to reach out and achieve their goals. Perhaps the silver lining of this pandemic will be a newfound appreciation for all the teachers who are so vital to our children’s lives.
Another epiphany I have had is the importance of available, reliable technology in our lives. With offices and schools closed across the country, most of us are now working and teaching from home with the help of technology, well, sort of. Working from home is challenging, but many rural residents face the daunting hurdle of trying to navigate online work and learning without the luxury of high-speed broadband internet.
For the last few months, this technological saga has been a personal reality for me as well. In August, my husband and I moved to a new home in an area that does not have ANY access to broadband internet. The only available option is satellite internet, which is relatively useless if the weather is bad. Since I work remotely from home most of the week, this is a major problem and I know it is for many others.
Data compiled by the Federal Communications Commission illustrates the importance of addressing this problem:
- 26.4% of rural Americans lack access to broadband compared to only 1% of urban- Louisiana has one of the lowest rates of households with internet access in the nation: 69%.
Perhaps when this pandemic is just a memory and a topic of “do you remember. . .” stories, the people will remind our leaders of the true need for technology for all.
I have also learned that we all need to strive for perspective. With store shelves empty and toilet paper a prized commodity, I realize that this hiatus may teach us all to reorganize our priorities and to trust the producers of our goods. The U.S.A. is not a third world country. Yes, we are experiencing problems, but we will not be without basic products. I read an article from Forbes magazine that states, while the store shelves may be bare for the time being, the nation’s toilet paper supply is safe, and companies are shipping out products as fast as they can roll it out.
In fact, toilet paper may be the new national superstar during this global crisis! In my online search for that precious pack of 2 ply toilet paper, I uncovered a little history lesson about this basic bathroom staple – did you know people once used corn cobs and ropes to serve their toilet needs??? Thank heavens for Charmin! It’s the simple things in life I now appreciate…
In my last trip to the grocery store, as I was hysterically searching for that last pack of toilet paper, I was also looking for pantry staples like rice, sugar, and bread. However, to my dismay, I found shelves sprinkled with grains of sugar where stacks of bags usually resided. I realized that we often take for granted the luxury of fully stocked shelves that contain the safest, most affordable food in the world. Even with my husband being a farmer, I take for granted the fact that those items don’t just magically appear on the shelves — someone spent a lot of time and hard work planting, growing, and harvesting those grains of rice, sugar, wheat, etc. for us to feed ourselves and our families. And while most of us are sheltering at home right now, farmers and ranchers are still working in the fields to plant this season’s crop, feeding a herd of spring born baby calves, or milking 150 dairy cows not once, but twice each day.
Their hard work each season delivers us a safe, healthy and affordable supply of food. Did you know that for every dollar consumers spend on food, only 7.8 cents goes back to the farmer? In addition to rising input costs to grow those crops, farmers are facing some of the lowest commodity prices in decades. As coronavirus concerns continue to plummet the stock market, farm commodity markets head south as well. Across rural America, natural disasters and low crop prices have farmers and ranchers struggling to stay in business; this virus just adds to those concerns.
Life is tough right now — it’s scary, uncertain, and will decidedly be like this for some time. But it won’t be like this forever. I pray that we will remember to be grateful for the blessings we sometimes take for granted — friends, family, the doctors and nurses who keep us healthy, the teachers who do more than educate your kids, the farmers and ranchers who grow the food and fiber we ALL rely upon, and toilet paper… thank the good Lord for toilet paper!
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