Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

As we hear more news about the CoronaVirus it is obvious that there are heroes within our society that deserve recognition:

• Those who serve on the front lines of this pandemic are our nurses, doctors and all medical personnel. They are scared yet they are tending to the most ill among us knowing that it is possible to turn from a care giver to a care receiver. Not only that but they realize they are putting their immediate families at risk. Include the vast army of medical researchers who are methodically yet desperately trying to find a cure and a vaccine. They know time is their enemy.
• Another group of heroes are all first responders, fire and police. As we face supply shortages of protective gear they will continue to tend to those in need of medical assistance. Police officers will be on the front line of keeping civil order. They deal with citizens with no medical shield and they know it.
• Include the vast army of city employees who provide essential services that we so often take for granted. The sanitation driver who picks up our garbage, the water employee insuring the delivery of clean, disinfected water that we can rely upon and those employees who make sure our traffic signals keep working.
• Add to list truckers and those who are keeping our supply chains intact so that we can still obtain food, gas and the essentials of life. This includes employees of banks, gas stations, pharmacies and grocery stores.
• Those citizens who are already self -isolating themselves. Many of us are. It’s not an easy choice but think of the consequences if we don’t. We can read those books we’ve been meaning to read. We can catch up on watching those movies that intrigued us but we never had time to view. We can clean house or reorganize our living spaces. We still can go outside, plant a garden or exercise in place of going to a gym. We can visit with others through Facebook or Skype. We can be creative.
• Those political leaders who have accepted the gravity of the situation and have imposed States of Emergency and called for the closing of all public gatherings including the closure of schools, bars and restaurants. They have accepted the need for social distancing to protect us all. I especially want to recognize Mayor Kate Gallardo of Phoenix who has done exactly that realizing her first mandate is to protect the health and safety of all of her residents.

State governors and the Presidential Task Force have said that we must social distance to try to prevent inordinate strain on our medical delivery system. They have warned us that the numbers of identified CoVid 19 cases will increase as more and more testing is done. The increase in numbers will require more and more medical intervention. That will put a strain on our entire medical delivery system. Did you know that in Italy they are no longer trying to save people over the age of 70 with CoronaVirus? Their entire medical system is on the verge of collapse. We must not let this happen in the United States.

Who are the zeroes?

• Hoarders make the very top of the list. They are obviously a very selfish group. If hoarding doesn’t happen there are enough supplies, including that of toilet paper, to go around. Now we see them hoarding basic supplies like beans, rice, etc. I hope there is a special place for them when they die. They have exacerbated an already difficult situation.
• Millennials who refuse to social distance. Can you believe this is Spring Break and these kids are at beaches everywhere partying their brains out? On a stupidity level they definitely come in at zero.
• Then there are those who say other viruses have been worse and what’s the big deal about CoronaVirus? They are the deniers in our society that will continue to socially congregate. They will continue to deny until they or someone in their family comes down with the virus. Then they will be the first to complain about the level of medical service available.
• Political leaders who have not or are reluctant to make the declaration of a State of Emergency and mandate a closure of non-essential gathering places like bars and restaurants. That includes Governor Doug Ducey and our Mayor. (FYI: In Glendale only the Mayor has this authority).We need to reduce the possible spread of this virus throughout this state and in every city. If it is done now, we can prevent deaths and the inevitable strain upon the state’s medical delivery system. What are they waiting for? Until things get worse? How much worse?

I implore everyone. Don’t be a Zero…try to be a Hero.

^{© Joyce Clark, 2020}         

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