“Oh I’m fine. Other than the pollen.”
“So you’re fine. Except you’re not.”
I had to laugh. I’m so used to my own personal normal. This too shall pass.
Pollen passes.
Pandemics pass.
Protests pass.
By the way, the pandemic hasn’t passed yet. If you were at a protest in Columbus, Ohio you may have been exposed to coronavirus on we don’t know what day. (!!!) Someone with symptoms who tested positive a few days later decided to attend anyway. People, if you’re sick stay home. And tell those with whom you live to stay home. Seek medical treatment and advice on testing as needed. Geez, we have enough to worry about with asymptomatic virus spreaders.
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’re aware of widespread protests against racial injustice and police brutality, some dissolving into rioting and looting, across the country over the last week. I have been heartened to see that a number of protests have remained peaceful and many attendees have been wearing masks. Note protests, like church functions, are exempted from mass gathering pandemic rules based on constitutional protections. (Mileage in your specific location may vary slightly.)
Every trip I have to make inside a store continues to reinforce my strategy to minimize those trips. Fewer than half the customers are wearing masks. I typically encounter several people who don’t seem to comprehend what staying six feet apart means. My personal space always gets invaded by those who cannot wait two seconds for me to grab what I need and move on.
I wonder if anyone gives a flying petunia about their fellow man anymore. In Ohio masks are recommended for all but required only of employees. Does anyone care about the employees? Or are they mere peons who should be grateful to have a job serving the rest of us who remain perched high and mighty on our royal thrones?
(I hope you know my answer to that semi-rhetorical question.)
Sigh.
The social media wars continue. Good grief, everyone seems to be on a mission to prove they’re right. One friend’s criticism of a public official this week was called out (because who are we if we’re not calling out and speaking out) on the grounds a good Christian wouldn’t use the particular adjective he chose.
Um, maybe separate your church and state just a bit.
Mostly he sang an old hymn in response. Preach it.
The virtue signaling did get rather tiresome this week.
“Virtue signalling is the popular modern habit of indicating that one has virtue merely by expressing disgust or favour for certain political ideas or cultural happenings.”
You could, of course, view this entire post and perhaps this entire site as my own virtue signaling. The irony is not lost on me. I will say I know many of the apparent signalers do in fact walk the walk. I did relay this brief story to a friend the other day, however …
Remember being a kid and getting in a yelling match with your siblings or friends where you all started telling each other to shut up … until someone or your mom finally yelled, “Shut up shuttin’ up!”? I kinda want to yell that right now.
In a very timely move we’ve been catching up on the Netflix series The Crown, about Queen Elizabeth II. We just watched an episode centered around forgiveness, in which our plucky monarch seeks counsel from the Reverend Billy Graham on the subject. Her key concern is whether to forgive her Uncle David and allow him to serve the country in some sort of official capacity. (Side note from the Book of Jenn: Forgiving and removing boundaries are two separate things.) Her Uncle David, aka the Duke of Windsor, aka the former King Edward the VIII who abdicated the throne in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. I recall learning about the abdication in school because (1) it was an unusual occurrence in history and (2) we needed to expand our vocabulary by learning the ultra smart word “abdication”. I don’t recall learning of the duke’s racist views, Nazi-sympathizing, or suspected plans with Hitler to regain the British throne in the event of a German victory in World War II. Yikes. Here’s the Wikipedia rundown. How much of the TV show and this Wikipedia article are one hundred percent accurate, I have no idea. I have learned Wikipedia has become a fairly reliable source on many subjects, though, as having many eyes on and contributors to an article tends to result in any errors being corrected.
Until next week, friends. Let’s be good humans. Let’s figure out what loving our neighbor looks like in our vicinity and just go do it.
P.S. If you haven’t watched our new film God’s Fool yet, catch the trailer here and buy or rent the movie here.
