DON’T FORGET ABOUT US

WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER

By Joan S. Peck

I stepped away into my kitchen and left the television playing. I didn’t pay any attention to what was being said until I heard a plaintive voice ask, “What about us? What about the janitors? Who do you think cleans up after the doctors and nurses?”

I walked back into the living room to listen to a news reporter as he showed videos of people cheering, clapping, and acknowledging the doctors, nurses, and first responders. Without taking away anything from those already recognized, the reporter was trying to make the point that there were more people to be grateful to than those shown. The frustrated man who had asked the earlier question was speaking for more than himself. He was speaking as part of a group who also wanted to be appreciated for their role in protecting others while putting their lives in danger.

That news report made it clear to me how our society works today. Our attention is quickly drawn to that which is the showiest and most obvious—the richest, the most beautiful, the most powerful, the most exceptional—the most anything in the superlative. It’s easy for us to forget that it takes a team to win a sports game, or a full orchestra to play a classical piece, or more than the star singer who needs a musical backup group, and so on. You catch my drift.

The African proverb ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ brings to mind its meaning that the interaction of ALL makes a safe and healthy environment. The trick of living the best life is to acknowledge that premise and to be grateful for each of us and what part we play in the whole.

There’s an expression that I think says it all, “There’s a seat on the bus for everyone.” There are no exclusions. We need each other, each one of us counts. No one is more important than another, and no one is better than another. When you look at it in that light, it becomes a comfort to know we are not alone; we’re all in this pandemic together. And that’s a nice thought, isn’t it?