The Pandemic Blues, Part 11: Reflections on our never-ending ‘new normal’ --- and fears of the division and dark days that could be on our doorstep

This column, which outlined my personal reflections during September’s Yom Kippur or the Jewish Day of Atonement, were written in September and published in October. But these hopeful reflections were sadly doomed from the time they were written as all indications point to things in the country getting a whole lot worse after Tuesday’s election – not better.
With cooperation among political foes a thing of the distant past, it’s clear that the president will not rest until he claims another four years – either by virtue of an election win or by force, and that’s no joke. There’s never been another era in my lifetime when every attempt to try to be positive and hopeful devolves into another round of apprehension and depression among the doom and gloom that many of us fear is coming. Just when you think it can’t get any worse ….
My pessimism stems from two overriding realities:
* THE PANDEMIC: The federal government’s decision to completely give up on trying to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, which will almost certainly lead to deaths --- already at about 230,000 in the United States – steeply climbing and cases spreading so rapidly that there will be no semblance of “normal” in this country for a very long time --- if ever again!
That approach and the reality that the federal government --- and many state governments --- have stopped even trying to battle the virus, and have basically abandoned the American people, is nothing short of unconscionable.
Government at all but the local levels – which have been the savior of Attleboro area residents – have utterly failed us during our most vulnerable time as a people since World War II – and that’s just plain sad.
State governments have also failed as they have not uniformly applied or enforced restrictions and limits – so you see families and others targeted for having too many people in gatherings, yet youth sports continue to have dozens, if not more than 100, kids and parents playing and watching sports with very little social distancing or mask-wearing going on. (Except for this past weekend due to the snow and rain, I saw that most weekends at just one youth sports field in North Attleboro.)
How about some continuity for a change? Why, in Southeastern Massachusetts, and especially the Attleboro area, for instance, have Bay Staters been told to quarantine for even briefly visiting Rhode Island when Rhode Islanders swarm into the Attleboro area every day, to shop, eat at restaurants, play golf and do a number of other things? Makes no sense. Whatever happened to the talk in April and May of a regional approach to drawing up regulations?
* THE NASTY, HATEFUL, DESPICABLE TONE OF OUR NATIONAL CONVERSATION ON EVERYTHING: Thanks to the cesspool that social media has, for the large part, become, our national tone of hate has exploded into new, dangerous levels – and this hurtful discourse has spilled over into the way that far too many politicians and leaders from Washington down to the local level conduct their business.
We all know how hateful President Trump is toward anyone who doesn’t support him, as he immediately calls them names and does what he does best: bullies them. Even getting COVID-19 failed to turn him into an empathetic person.
Those of us who don’t belong to political parties – I am an unenrolled voter who has supported candidates of all parties in the past – are dismayed, upset and angry over how the bulk of us in the middle are being treated.
As I’ve said in past blog posts, where are the compromises and middle approaches to the nation’s serious problems? If Republican presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush --- and even Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon – could find common ground with their foes to get key legislation passed, why can’t today’s politicians?
Instead, Trump and the Democrats yell and scream at each other, there’s been no new bailout bills since the start of the pandemic, and amidst the incessant squabbling, all Americans are losers.
The pervasive animosity of our political discourse has trickled down to the state level, where governors trying to curb COVID-19 do so in large part without any compassion and feeling for the rest of us. The governors of Massachusetts and Rhode Island especially relish addressing the public – the people elected them in office – with disrespect as they continue not to talk to us, but to constantly scold, lecture and threaten us. Despite the fact that most of us have been following the rules and doing our best, it's never enough, according to our leaders. The governor just might as well end life as we know it, because things will never be normal in Massachusetts again!
A NEW APPROACH: NOTE TO ALL GOVERNMENT LEADERS; HOW ABOUT FIRESIDE CHATS AND REAL LEADERSHIP? Instead of either telling us falsely that the virus is under control, as the president has consistently been doing for the last couple of months, and scolding us, as our governors have been doing, our alleged leaders should try some intimate fireside chats, a la Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and talk to ALL of us – not only their “base.” We need a president and leaders at all levels who care about all of us, not only their supporters ---- and we haven’t had that on the federal level since Jan. 20, 2017.
ONE MORE THING: Just say NO to Facebook and social media – especially during the next few weeks. As U.S. intelligence agencies have been warning us, foreign governments are trying to hijack our election and it will be hard to believe anything your read on social media, so stay off it!
A WISH: I wish you health and safety in these tough times. And may God help us all, before we lose our country!

This column was published Oct. 7, 2020 in The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA

Two years ago, in a column about the Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement --- a 24-hour period of fasting and personal reflection that concludes the time between the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur known as the Ten Days of Repentance --- I extolled the virtues of the holiday giving us a chance to unplug from our 24-7 lifestyle.
This year, the Jewish New Year of 5781 began on the eve of Sept. 18, and the solemn period concluded Monday at sundown, when the shofar or ram’s horn, was sounded to mark the end of the Day of Atonement. But Yom Kippur, like every aspect of our lives these days, was unlike any that we’d ever experienced.
For one thing, if you were intent on participating in religious services, it was unlikely you were able to give up your electronic devices since, due to the coronavirus pandemic, many congregations opted against holding in-person services, and instead turned to Internet-based ones.
That was the case at Attleboro’s Congregation Agudas Achim, where the services were offered virtually, a difficult decision, according to the synagogue’s new spiritual leader.
Rabbi Alex Weissman, in an interview with me for Jewish Rhode Island of Providence, said the decision was made to ensure congregants’ health. “It's a heartbreaking decision that we came to through a thoughtful process of considering the importance of our holidays and also the very real risk of gathering in person,” he said.
Why did they go the virtual route?
“Our tradition places tremendous emphasis on the value of human life,” he said,
“prioritizing it over so many other parts of our tradition, including Shabbat (the Sabbath). If we can be part of flattening the curve and saving lives, even if it means living with the disappointment of virtual services, then that's the choice our tradition demands of us,” Weissman, 36, said.
Although that made it impossible to spend part of Yom Kippur at a synagogue or temple, Weissman made it clear that Jews still had an obligation to reflect on their lives, even in the midst of our never-ending “new normal.”
“As we sit with that disappointment and loss that comes with this change (to virtual services), I think it will be necessary both to reflect on how to be with the uncertainty that we all face and also explore how we can find comfort. As we care for each other as a community in this way, we will also need to ask the question, ‘to whom are we obligated?’ “
Weissman is right: Reflection is good for the soul these days, and with his words as motivation, I spent time at home on Yom Kippur thinking about many things. My reflections and prayers included:
* Hoping that, more than six months into this pandemic, people across the country would finally find a way to behave less selfishly. Yes, there have been plenty of examples of people acting selflessly --- especially first responders, health care workers and other essential workers. But there have also been far too many examples of people ignoring the guidelines for mask-wearing, social-distancing, formal gatherings and backyard parties, with the result that more than 200,000 Americans have died so far from the virus, and no end is in sight.
* Wishing that our government at all levels would be a lot more understanding about what we’re going through. I wish they’d be empathetic toward our economic pressures, the frightening fallout that we’ll all feel for years from the high number of small businesses and restaurants that have failed, the emotional strain on parents trying to balance those daunting hybrid school and work schedules and our constant worries about catching this deadly virus. Even if they can’t answer our concerns, it’d be nice if they at least pretended to care.
* Praying that people in public life would learn to actually be civil toward each other, even if they disagree on policy and ideology. As some observers, including Sun Chronicle columnist Donna Perry, have pointed out, Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on the eve of the Jewish New Year, and Antonin Scalia, who died in February 2016, were close friends despite holding polar-opposite views. And don’t forget about President Reagan and House Speaker Tip O’Neill quaffing a few brews after a hard day of negotiating?
* Hoping that our national leaders --- from President Trump to Senate President Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – would start putting the people’s business ahead of their own self-interests. People can’t afford to wait until January for more COVID-19 relief.
* Wishing that those same people would act like menschen --- a Yiddish word for people who act with integrity, honor and decency – when they conduct the public’s business. It was sickening that very shortly after Ginsburg’s death, the debate exploded on the right and left about filling Ginsburg’s vacancy. That was shameful, but all too common, behavior by our leaders.
* Thinking a lot about family members and friends who have left us. That’s appropriate for Yom Kippur, one of the Jewish holidays when a separate memorial service called Yizkor is held to remember deceased parents, siblings, spouses, children, relatives and friends. We’re also asked to remember the victims of the Holocaust and many other martyrs who were killed solely because they were Jewish.
* Last, but not least, I prayed for us to realize that we as Americans share more similarities than differences. We should strive to find a way to unite to surmount the steep challenges that we face instead of letting our impatience lead us to ignoring the facts, which has allowed the pandemic to gather more strength.