The Real Virus that is Killing America: Are you a Spreader?
COVID-19 is killing Americans, but it is not what is killing America. What is killing America is the virus of divisiveness, and it is non-partisan. This is not the fault of Donald Trump, as the “left” would have you believe. This is also not the fault of “liberal socialists” as the “right” would have you believe. This is a virus for which we have a shared culpability. We are all guilty of either spreading it, or not making the effort necessary to stop it. Time is running out to mitigate the damage and stop the spread. Which side are you on? Are you a spreader or a healer? Are you leaving the conversation entirely, or are you willing to lead it? Our country needs leaders, not spreaders. We need inspiration.
COVID-19 has been the perfect storm for us to hide in our respective bubbles, but every bubble pops, and it’s time to pop this one.
As I write, nearly 200,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. My own niece fought that virus alone in order to stop its spread. COVID-19 is impacting mortality around the world. But the viral division that is plaguing us is impacting both our mortality and our morality. Like COVID-19, it spreads silently and can impact anyone, anywhere. This divisiveness has super spreaders just like COVID-19, and unlike my niece, they aren’t recovering in isolation. We know who some of these super spreaders are: They are certain members of the media, some political leaders, and, in many cases, our own close friends and family. They are the spreaders of misinformation, divisiveness, and sometimes visceral hatred. These spreaders cut across all demographics and, most importantly, from all sides of the political spectrum.
I suspect many who are spreaders may not know it. They are “asymptomatic” and believe the information they are spreading is accurate. Since their bubble tends to agree, they continue shedding more virus, not realizing they are spreading the viral division that is destroying our country. If the message we’re spreading fits in a meme or a soundbite, more likely than not, it’s misleading at best, or inciting at its worst.
So how do we stop it?
Let us all more carefully consider what we are spreading and ensure it isn’t worsening the disease of divisiveness. This is especially true for super spreaders, like the media and some of our political leaders, but we can all do our part. Let us all lead the conversation in a direction of healing, not leave the conversation silent which allows the sounds of divisiveness and misinformation to roar. Let’s work to inspire and not to divide.
We are in a time of crisis, which should mean a time to come together to help the collective good. But this crisis is different. Unlike anything in our country’s recent history, this crisis has forced us to close our doors. It has also caused some of us to close our hearts and our minds to live alone in our respective bubbles. We need to burst these bubbles by stepping outside our echo chambers. This means opening our hearts to hear those who may differ from us and opening our minds to evaluate information before we share it. We need to ask the difficult questions and be willing to listen to difficult answers. First and foremost, we must ask ourselves, am I spreading this virus or am I helping us heal? Silence continues the spread.
We need to be willing to call out our political leaders when they become spreaders, but not just call them out when they are of the party with which we are not aligned. Democrats need to call out Democrats. Republicans need to call out Republicans. We all need to demand that the media contextualize what is happening around us so we are receiving accurate information. We need to have difficult conversations with our friends and family. This needs to be done respectfully, but it needs to be done, and it won’t work unless we do it together. Our current culture has politicized family, health, public safety, and love for our neighbors. Think about that. These are issues of humanity, yet they are being used to divide us.
Let us not lose our concern for humanity while we are all facing the fears of our mortality. Let’s pop our bubbles and create a real dialogue of information to lead to inspirational changes. Let’s lead the conversation, don’t leave it. Let’s stop the spread.
