What is Patriotism? Are you Patriotic?
Tomorrow we celebrate Memorial Day. We take one day to celebrate and honor the men and women who have died in service to our country.
In this time of Coronavirus, we take time to honor our fallen who died in armed service to our country. But, we also need to stop and honor all the modern-day fallen heroes of this global war against this horrific global pandemic.
Our Memorial day heroes wore the uniforms of the US Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Special Forces. Our modern warriors wear a different type of uniform. They serve in nursing scrubs with N95 respirators and surgical masks, wearing eye protection and battling to save lives while not only protecting their own lives but striving to protect the lives of others they may come into contact with.
These Heroes are deemed “essential workers” and are the only thing keeping our bare-bones modern life running.
They’re emergency room doctors and nurses, public transportation workers, sanitation workers, and grocery store clerks. They’re meat-cutters and meatpackers working shoulder to shoulder on grueling 10 hour shifts.
They’re caring for our elderly family members, stocking grocery shelves and delivering needed supplies to all essential businesses. They’re nursing the sick and dying and processing all the dead bodies; over 100,000 to date in less than 4 months in the US alone.
They’re laboring in our fields, factories and warehouses to secure our nation’s food supply for the rest of us distancing at home.
On the front lines of this battle you won’t see the rockets red glare and bombs bursting in air. The front lines of this battle are the deserted city streets where the homeless still struggle to survive. The front lines are the subways, the projects, the outer-borough hospitals, the veteran’s homes and the prisons.
So far, the heroism and unselfish dedication of this corps of warriors has not been acknowledged to any great degree. Their heroism goes on day-to-day as they fight an unseen enemy and keep the rest of us living in relative comfort.
What does it mean to be patriotic at a time such as this?
They say that the pinnacle of patriotism is sacrifice. That is certainly what we celebrate on Memorial Day; sacrifice for our country. Patriotism in the face of Coronavirus can take many forms.
Paul Cary was just one of many heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice for his fellow countrymen during this pandemic. In late March, the 66-year-old Cary dropped everything and left his hometown of Aurora, Colorado to lend a hand as part of the State of New York COVID Response team. He died on April 30 of the virus. He was a patriot who sacrificed everything in this fight.
Saul Sanchez, Eduardo Conchas de la Cruz and Tibursio Rivera López, who all worked at the same meatpacking plant in Colorado paid the ultimate sacrifice. They were “essential workers” who were under-resourced because of our weak response to this pandemic. They are patriots.
Sujatha Gidla, a New York City subway conductor, has a different take on these essential worker heroes. She calls them “sacrificial workers”.
I personally know five women around the country who have been sewing masks for health workers, friends and families. They stepped in and did what they could with the skills they had to be a part of the solution. They are patriots.
When I commended one of them and thanked her for her service of sewing masks and gowns for essential health workers, she responded, “We are all warriors on the front lines. Our masks tell each other “we are all in this together.”
Yes, simply wearing a mask in a public space can be reassuring to someone vulnerable out to get food for their family.
IMO, patriotism is not protesting mask-wearing on the capital’s steps. Wearing a mask in a public enclosed space is a very small sacrifice for the greater good.
A quote by Gandhi tells the story of our errors as a nation in the face of this unseen threat to American lives, “The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.”
It’s very sad that Coronavirus in America has been politicized, weaponized and used to divide US against each other to our own detriment and even causing American deaths.
Coming together as a nation in a crisis and for the good of all and especially the weak and vulnerable is what made us great in the past.
Regardless of race, religion, gender, political affiliation or other, We are All Americans. We cannot afford leaders who put politics above our country.
Let’s celebrate a Nation United of Freedom, Health and Justice for All Americans this Memorial Day!
~ The Happy Wayfarer
