By Lafe Tolliver, Esq
Guest Column
Take a deep breath and sit back and marvel at what has happened to the whole world regarding the sneaky takeover by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Millions are infected. Hundreds of thousands are dying and the projection from Dr. Fauci is that he is estimating, when fall arrives, up to 100,000 infections PER DAY.
Now, when you top that off with leadership in the White House which is in deep denial of this pandemic and wants to distract you with race-based themes of, “Us v. Them”, you can begin to see that Herr Trump is woefully unfit for the presidency and is pandering to the worse instincts of his base.
Then, when you see the ravages of this virus decimating nursing homes, dividing families, depleting resources as millions are out of work and a faltering federal government that cannot even keep pace with minimal management of this crisis and you wonder…
And then, when you see world-wide airline travel being plagued by red ink everywhere because people are scared of traveling for fear of falling a victim to this small but mighty virus, you begin to wonder…
And when you see the decimation of employment rolls in the USA and the corollary effects worldwide and the angst that it is causing in families, school systems and the marginalized becoming more marginalized, you got to wonder…
When leadership is gasping for air as to how to combat and defeat this evasive and mutative virus and the death toll is predicted to rise and rise each week and month, you need to wonder…
When people are flagging for lack of faith and are in the grips of depression and anxiety about when will this all end and when can we go about without a nagging fear that, “I may be next”, you should wonder…
The wonder is, is this a sign of how small and ill prepared we are as humans to control our environment and of the arrogance in which we have managed our natural resources or have neglected to do basic husbandry work of sharing and caring for the bounty that we take for granted?
The wonder is, is this a sign that shows us that our greed, neglect and coarseness of feelings towards one another is taking a toll on our civility and that this virus is causing us to re-think and to re-group about principles of what is fair and just for all and that sharing is really a good thing?
Is this a time that the social protests of inhuman police practices and how the nigh unchecked rampaging of the Covid-19 is ripping off society’s mask of denial and showing greed and corruption?
Will this cause people and governments to pause and understand that we are not the masters of the universe as we have deluded ourselves to believe we are?
In all of what has transpired and what will transpire, does the collective nation ever turn its anxious thoughts to God to find out, “What Meaneth This?”
Or, do we blithely pursue our preset goals and agendas of only working ourselves back to a pre-normal and pre COVID-19 society and treat this pandemic as a speed bump in our pell-mell rush to exterminate the unpleasantness of this pandemic and to go on to the next catastrophe?
From my vantage point, I do not see a national leader of a religious stature that can command the attention of a divided nation and call those polarities to a time of fasting and prayer.
A time that instead of simply monitoring our shut down time as an exercise of punishment, that it is used to sharpen our spiritual focus and seek the face of God and to inquire, “What should we do and how have we failed.”
A nation that vaingloriously tells itself that it is One Nation Under God, is lying through its gold-plated teeth if the first order of business is not to seek the face of God and to pray for national repentance and for an end to this plague.
But not just an end to this “teaching” plague but also wisdom to walk the right path of justice, fairness and compassion for the least of all those who occupy planet Earth with us.
Yeah, yeah…I know. People do not want you to get spiritual on them and much less tell them that they are not in control of world events (as they like to think) but rather taking a road of humility and collective prayer can bring dramatic breakthroughs for people and nations who are willing to forsake foolish pride and take a knee before God.
I know, I know. Will God listen and hear such contrite prayers? In a simple word: Yes.
Contact Lafe Tolliver at tolliver@juno.com