Is this coronavirus lite? SC, Beaufort County, Hilton Head need to go all-in | Opinion
Are we fighting the coronavirus or not?
You have to wonder when Gov. Henry McMaster and President Donald Trump urge the public to stay apart to prevent the spread of COVID-19 — while standing in a group on stage looking like clowns stuffed into a phone booth.
Then you see a photo on Facebook of Beaufort’s Bay Street at happy hour, a scene so desolate someone commented, “Cue the tumble weeds.”
We’re schizophrenic.
The New York Times reported Tuesday morning that at least 158 million people in 16 states, nine counties and three cities are being urged to stay home except for a trip to the grocery store or pharmacy.
We are not among them. Our streets are still full. Our hotels are open.
But most of us have already sacrificed enough to kill the economy. So why not go whole hog? Why not try 15 days of a total shut-down? Why not listen to the doctors?
Hilton Head’s Town Council closed the beaches. Or not. If you get to the beach from private property, you’re OK.
The state announces it will close state parks, but only for two days. And close it only to day-use. Huh?
We’re told not to gather in groups — with “groups” now defined as three people — but the good times roll butt to almost nekkid butt on the sandbar in the Beaufort River and May River.
A friend posted an encouraging message on Facebook yesterday. It was shared, and received, as a ray of hope.
It came from an American teaching in China.
It tells me that we’re trying coronavirus lite.
“It seems like forever (Jan. 30) since we’ve been confined to our apartment, (but) we are seeing light at the end of this tunnel. Everyday life in Hangzhou, China is returning to BCV (before Corona Virus),” the shared email said.
“Today at the grocery store, no more temperature checks or health codes. That’s great news.
“Now we just need to continue wearing masks, and record our a.m. and p.m. temperatures for 2 weeks to ensure we are all ready to reopen school. This is also good news.
“For the rest of the world, the tunnel is long but the light is there and bright. Hang in there. (Love) from China.”
OK, so Americans don’t behave, or follow rules, like the poor Chinese living under a bootjack “people’s democratic dictatorship.”
But that should not render us incapable crybabies when “the tunnel is long.”
We say we want people to go away, but we want our beach.
We celebrate the “greatest generation” for winning World War II. But we seem to have forgotten the “all-in,” total, national sacrifice that it took to make it happen.
Charts now show us that the coronavirus spread is coming just as predicted.
It feels like there would be anarchy if our governments pushed us harder. It seems like it is up to us, as individuals.
These next two weeks are no time for coronavirus lite. We’re doing a lot. Our lives are upside down. But will we, as individuals and as governments, be able to look back on this historic moment and say, “We did all that we could possibly have done.”
If we really want to see a bright light at the end of the tunnel, we’re going to have to act like it today.
