‘Dangerous phase’: Moral questions on bailing too soon on coronavirus safety | Opinion

It took a while for people to believe that the coronavirus was for real.

Despite the folks who are racing onto the beaches in Jacksonville and, I am afraid soon enough, in our own Lowcountry, I’m heartened to see more people in masks (they are becoming a new fashion accessory!), and medical gloves.

Grocery stores are wiping down the carts before customers enter. People are using the skin disinfectants and wipes regularly.

Have we finally gotten into the spirit of defeating this virus? Are we on the right pathway to restore the public’s confidence in maintaining the public health for our society?

No matter what political shenanigans we witness on the news cycle, will the majority of people continue to affirm the importance of preserving human life as the most important moral imperative?

Will that progress last, considering the latest surge by advocates in various states to open the beaches, the stores and other forms of commercial enterprises?

I am concerned we are moving from a stage of mitigation toward a stage of instigation, and human lives are the chips in this poker game.

Stir up the people and sacrifice public health on the altar of economic power. Gather together in houses of worship because we as American citizens have the right to do so, even if we risk infecting parishioners.

Maybe that is not entirely fair because economics do matter.

Yes, we have people in our community who have been furloughed from their jobs. Of course they need to get back into the workforce and feed their families.

Many in retail businesses, and particularly in the restaurants, have been hit especially hard.

People say, “We cannot stand by and allow this plague to destroy human life.”

Others ask, “Did we overreact to this virus and unwittingly allow COVID-19 to destroy our way of life?”

Which one is correct?

We are now entering what could be a particularly dangerous phase with the peak period of the virus in our region. What does it mean to keep our eyes on the prize in this situation? History teaches how divisive plagues can be in tearing apart a community. We are now in sight of 50,000 deaths nationwide. How expendable is human life?

Let’s take a look at one story in the Hebrew Bible, in First Samuel beginning in Chapter 4, which describes a terrible plague (maybe the bubonic plague) that killed thousands of people. It seems that the Philistines captured a variety of Israelite cities. They were able to abscond with the precious Ark of the Covenant.

God sends a plague down onto the Philistines who eventually get wise and decide that they have to get rid of this Ark. They bring the Ark of the Covenant to each of the Hebrew-occupied towns by the Philistines, but the plagues worsen and the Philistine deaths increase. No matter what town they enter in their expanded kingdom, the Israelite Ark of the Covenant does not prevent the Philistines from contracting this deadly disease.

Finally, there is a huge battle between the Israelites and the Philistines and with victory in hand for the Israelites, the Philistines lose the Ark of the Covenant and those conquered cities are returned to Samuel the prophet who judges Israel.

There is a caveat to this apparent victory over the Philistines. The Israelites must get rid of their idol worship and the practices of divination and other rituals that they adopted from these pagan cultures. The commitment to a reset morally and spiritually is the key for the Israelite people avoiding the plague and moving forward.

Are we not like the Philistines who are also trying to get rid of this plague? Are we also similar to the Israelites, as well, when it comes to performing a moral and spiritual reset for there to be a chance to resume the lifestyles and economic prosperity we had before the onslaught of COVID-19?

The question is whether we are the change or the impediment to change that brings us closer to or farther from the real prize at the end of the day?

I do not downplay the critical role that reviving the economy should play in our society.

If, however, we cross over that line and see the regression of the COVID-19 curve rise in fatalities instead of flatten, resulting in even greater numbers of deaths, are we prepared to accept some responsibility that we have contributed to those consequences?

Did we, in other words, overcome the idols in our times and stick to the core value that saving lives matters first and foremost in a civilized society?

Rabbi Brad Bloom of Hilton Head Island writes on matters of faith.