The collective efforts that are required right now are showing America that the individual CANNOT go it alone. As a matter of fact, we are complaining about those conditioned to their cores that they are on their own and that survival of the fittest is the ONLY game plan. And then, on a dime, they are not allowed to be rugged individuals anymore but must think of the impact they could make on others. Empathy is rising, the government is recognizing the need to support ALL people during this crisis, and our supremely efficient and greedy corporations that reward themselves and their shareholders handsomely are asking for our money to support their poor decisions. Individual people did not ask for this virus, and due to income inequality and lack of health care, they are rendered extremely vulnerable while our corporations and governments slice up a fat pie amongst themselves, all the while stating they couldn’t afford concessions to the weakest and poorest members of society. Who is thinking that the OLD way of doing things is just fucked?

There’s been talk about seeing the negative effect of globalization and that this will change manufacturing going forward. I don’t see how this will impact any of that. Prior to the virus, America had about 4% unemployment, and many companies were struggling to attract employees. If we were to attempt to create manufacturing jobs in this country, who would fill those positions? We’d need immigrants, but we’ve been building walls, letting people from South and Central America know they are unwelcome. While I think there are plenty of Americans, who’d like to welcome over white Europeans, who of them would come to a country without a social safety net? So we can dream of bringing manufacturing back, but that’s idiocy for a country that’s been pushed to the type of hostility towards others as we have now. And, if anything, we are going to have an even greater need for white-collar computer workers as we realize the importance of online shopping services, telemedicine, electronic medical billing efficiencies, and jobs that allow people to work remotely with the bandwidth and services they require. Regarding this last point, my wife and for one small example, could benefit the coastal economy of Oregon while maintaining work in Phoenix if we could spend time working from Yachats or some other idyllic place along the sea. This way, we would maintain two places to live, but if investors continue to drive the price of rentals up and hurt small-town economies, we cannot spend that time and money in a rural town that is too expensive and does not serve our needs because services are lacking.

All of this is about leadership and thinking that we do not have at the top of our government or corporations. I wish that Donald Trump would announce he’s not seeking a second term and that the Republican party would try fielding a candidate that moves them away from their neo-fascist platform and give first priority to working as a nation instead of a bunch of animals afraid they won’t get to eat at the corpse of the fallen animal before the jackals and vultures descend. We really have become a nation of idiots where WE are allowing our president to call COVID-19 the China virus because he’s a petty manchild reflecting exactly what his base is. This is not about liberal or conservative views; this is about humanity and the obvious position we are in right now, with an emphasis on WE.

While trying to shift focus to my hobbies, I can’t help but answer the occasional call of those who are concerned, and once again, I’m going over my observations and trying to share the positives.

In the meantime, I continue to scour the street for trash, and on my second monitor, I have the jellyfish of Monterey Bay Aquarium pulsing by in the light blue ether of their home outside the ocean as I look for something to soothe the fraying edges.

My exercise regime took a hit today due to some on-again, off-again rain we were getting, but still, I managed to get 152 active minutes squeezed into 16,800 steps or 7.82 miles (12.7km).