We are on day 188 of 15 days to slow the spread.
It’s the first day of Autumn.
Time for hayrides and pumpkin patches. Time for high school football and homecoming. Time for Trick or Treating and bonfires.
Oh…wait…
It’s a true story that I told my family that for Halloween we should just turn off the lights and hit up the stores for half-price candy the next day.
Sorry kids.
You have to wonder if parents will even let their kids go Trick-or-Treating. I mean, after all, masks are appropriate.
While I hate the phrase, we really are all in this together.
And we’re stuck here until there’s a reliable vaccine or a herd immunity.
Or until we’ve all just had enough and collectively decide that we’ll take our chances and open everything up.
Who am I kidding? We’d never get enough of us to agree on that to make it work.
We’re pretty divided right now. But, unless you’re living under a rock, you already know that.
I don’t know how to fix that. All we can really do is pray.
There’s a meme going around about how wonderful it will be if Biden is elected and we all love each other and unicorns will fart rainbows.
Sorry, it may push your political buttons, but it’s not going to unify us.
I’ve seen too many people post things like “If you support the president, unfriend me now.”
I’ve heard stories about children who will not allow their parents to see their grandchildren because the grandparents support Trump.
Seriously? If you’re willing to end personal and family relationships over politics, then the sickness goes far beyond “Orange Man Bad.”
And that’s about as political as I’m going to get.
Except to say this.
The government and the politicians aren’t going to save us or heal us. They’re just not.
They may push the policies you like or don’t like but things won’t be better overnight just because your guy, or gal, wins or loses.
We all have some personal responsibility here. We have to work to get along with those we may disagree with politically.
Let’s start with something simple:
Stop buying the cheap candy!
You know the kind I’m talking about. Stores only sell it because some of you keep buying it.
I don’t care if it comes in orange and black wrappers, nobody eats the Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses by Necco.
Look, if we’re going to get back to being one nation, we have to start agreeing on something.
This is the perfect issue.
You know I’m right.
Work with me. We can agree on this.
Next week we’ll pick something else.
Like the fact that summer can’t get back here fast enough.
Photo by Dane Deaner on Unsplash
Italian singer-songwriter and producer, Andrea Bocelli, was born on this day in 1958.