Dear Mr. President

Dear Mr. President,

First, I want to thank you for your leadership during the current pandemic. I know you’re making the best decisions you can based on the advice you’re receiving. But as I listen to the experiences of friends and neighbors, I see a problem in the government’s advice to isolate as a solution to the threat of COVID-19. If a cord of three strands is not quickly broken, it’s unbelievable to me that the only solution we’ve been given in this crisis is the one that leads to unraveling.

Ironically, while the impact of sheltering at home affects us in diverse ways, there is a common thread which ties all our experiences together—the void that isolation generates. Since it’s difficult to interact or physically support one another, the best we can do is offer consolation from a distance, watching helplessly while we all try to navigate these uncharted waters. First responders and medical personnel pay a particularly huge price in fatigue as those on the front lines of potential contagion as well as the fear of bringing a virus home to their families. In the case of parents who’ve been handed the surprising responsibility to complete their children’s education this year, as well as homeschooling families deprived now of one another's support, every parent of a school-aged child has been left adrift in a sea of uncertainty, unsure of the once reliable location of true north. Our compasses have been shattered and we are left alone to pick up the pieces.

I do not blame the virus for this consequence—I blame the forced lockdowns. I’m frustrated by the way we are being forced to protect ourselves, advice that amounts to nothing more than crawling into a hole. By ourselves. Indefinitely. The fear foisted on us by an eager press is more lethal than the virus itself.

The domino effect of these things and the shutdowns forced on our country is enormous. Churches have closed, small businesses are going under due to no fault of their own, families left unemployed face bankruptcy, and anxiety threatens the mental health of many as we are separated from the very loved ones who are normally there to buoy us up in times of crisis. All the gathering places where people find strength in unity, comfort in a handshake or hug, solace in a smile—every single one of these things is now in the crosshairs while we are “reassured” by media and personalities that we are “in this together.”

Please tell me how we are in this together when we are pressured to stay away from each other?

Sheltering in place—a poor synonym for the sobering reality of isolation—is the last thing people need. In the history of our country there has never been a time when we have been “encouraged” to separate ourselves in order to save ourselves. Not during the Spanish Flu epidemic, not at war time, not in any other pandemic. It goes against all that makes us human to “self-isolate,” a phrase I hope I never have to hear again in my lifetime. I am especially sorry for those in our communities who live alone right now.

Our phobic panic has led us to fear even our neighbors, our closest friends, and our families. Some suggest we fear for one another, but I don’t think that’s what’s really driving the isolation or lockdown or shelter-in-place or whatever else anyone wants to call it. Pressured to remain hidden behind closed doors, perpetually washing hands that never touch anything or anyone outside our immediate environment, loneliness is a bigger threat to our well-being than a virus could ever be.

A distance of six feet may as well be sixty miles, and the face masks we are now told to wear a reminder that we each appear dangerous to each other. Even deadly. Let’s be honest for a change. What we’re really telling one another is to “Just Stay Away.” When we are finally rescued from our remote desert islands, I hope none of us returns with the shirt we bought as easily as the lie that made us wear it.

There are risks to incessant isolation. I’m sure you’re aware that cities are reporting an increase in suicide attempts and deaths. Marriages are in crisis. Stress is its own killer across the board, and all the anxiety which naturally accompanies the information overload and social distancing we are experiencing does nothing but promote that. None of these things are contagious in grocery store lines, but they are the backlash of either good intentions gone haywire or, as many worry, something worse.

We are being told to rely on “science” as the CDC does, but science changes its mind everyday and the CDC follows suit. I’ve read articles written as recently as a month ago telling us that face masks are considered ineffective by the CDC and, in some cases, may even perpetuate the virus itself. Once again, science and the CDC changed their minds and now “suggest” all Americans wear a face mask in public though their own webpage states that they do nothing to protect people against COVID-19.  They base their new suggestions on information they supposedly didn’t have when the virus first broke out—namely, that people can infect others with a virus days before they are symptomatic.

That’s not even close to the truth. As a mother of two children, I’ve known firsthand for at least thirty-five years that germs and viruses spread well in advance of anyone’s knowledge that there’s a bug on the loose. And science and the CDC know that, too—they’ve written about it in recent years.

We’re told to make masks, not buy them, but I have yet to hear the recommendation that cloth masks should be washed after every wear. If they indeed capture vagrant virus germs so we don’t inhale them, we shouldn’t handle them until they’ve been laundered. Frankly, if you haven't been fit-tested for a mask, it can give a false sense of security by allowing viruses to get past the barrier. This is the training professionals receive regarding protective equipment. Gloves should be removed inside out and thrown away, never re-worn, and never used to touch more than one item. Where is that advice in newscasts? Like any other form of protection, I can buy a shield, but if I don’t know how to use it, will it really keep me safe?

I can’t help but feel like we are at the mercy of puppeteers who daily pull new strings to see if we will dance.

I admit I have no idea what kind of pressure you are under as the leader of this remarkable country, Mr. President. I can only give you my perspective where I sit alone on my back patio for the fourth straight week under government-advised house arrest. Isolation and loneliness are deadly. We are meant for contact with other human beings, even though, as always, it carries with it risk. Right now, though we are a free country, we are held hostage by paranoia, an abundance of contradictory information from equivocal government agencies, and a paralyzing fear of the unknown.

Mr. President, people need to get back to work to support their families and to find purpose again. Our economy needs it. Our country needs it. Shutting down an entire nation out of the fear that we don't have enough common sense to know how to wash our hands and avoid touching our faces is not only short-sighted, it's insulting.

The greatest threat to America right now is the loss of trust and security generated by prescribed self-isolation. The fallout from months spent fearing a virus that will go the way of all its predecessors may prove greater than the sum of its parts. I am weary of the suspicion I see and even, to my shame, feel myself whenever any of us dares to get too close to another human being, whatever that may mean. The benefits of a hug from a friend or loved one exceeds and even protects against the dangers of isolation.

It’s been said that to take the road less traveled makes all the difference. I’m praying that you—and we—will.

Soon.







With thanks to Tom Bech for the use of the photo above. The original can be viewed by following the link below:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/viatorius/5610477551/in/photolist-9xMavz-AHCbpk-pEDbEm-mqJhv-dths1d-bAQosE-dugcss-dthiE2-y8bkpY-2ehya2z-5rQ313-4Dqjo2-8JDueE-aURRp4-7EHStU-7SQaFN-2pSgZz-7Ysf1-6NVPio-8nUt6e-8f6etd-eqGGk-9u6wgx-dthtvX-6NWd32-duNvZ6-dugcMs-azbdHa-oGPGuX-3adyAF-bsexcT-aRpG1i-dNpXFG-25Qqein-QpZLmg-aRpGaM-4E5tXw-8rurbu-o5L1Wg-EagMd-62USZG-fMHa4q-62YZz2-ot51xR-fMpFT4-4KU1Ek-qkTLj-23vh7E-9iy3Qs-4vFUqw