At the risk of sounding trite, this article focuses on common sense ideas for self-care and using the time that self-quarantine creates. Practicing social distancing and self-quarantine is vital to how the virus spreads and to whom.

Asking people to practice these ways of living, even on the short term can be a real burden for many individuals, families, businesses, and communities. Social distancing may negatively impact many people, especially those who are vulnerable in society. There are structural and social inequities built in and around social distancing recommendations. Steps need to be taken to improve the community response to people who face food insecurity, domestic violence, and housing challenges, along with the many other social disadvantages.

The goal for now is to create sustainable practices and focus on resiliency. Almost anyone can do these things at various levels. If a majority of people just take one day at a time to self-quarantine and make the best of the time, it is possible to change the outcome that is predicted and maybe find some good in the current state of affairs.

What's Next...

Dear Governor DeWine and Ohio government officials,

COVID-19 has catapulted us into a crisis. You, rightly, have expressed concern about protecting the peoples’ health, safety and rights. In cancelling the Ohio primary election you were attempting to act to protect us. This is what we elect you to do. Governor DeWine, when you announced you were cancelling the election, you stood at the podium, and stated, “the people should not have to decide between their health and their constitutional rights.”

Amen to that.

But let’s be honest. It was a fantastic sound bite. But it was also hypocritical. I have great difficulty reconciling some of your words with your actions.

Ongoing Crises

“Waiting is full.” That’s what my husband Eric says: waiting is full, of whatever you do with that time. It could be irritation, anxiety or anger or it could be meditation, for example.

We are all in a waiting game here. Waiting to see what’s going to happen next. Hour by hour things are changing and evolving, the outcome uncertain.

Not only are we waiting, we are being asked/ordered to do it inside, away form others, to “shelter in place.” We’re told to stay home, keep a safe distance from others. For most of us, our jobs are on hold or worse, gone! For most that is a very scary thing. So, there’s fear in the waiting.

But you know what else there is in there? So much love! It’s everywhere from the balconies of Italy to our own communities. People are loving on each other via social media, on TV and by reaching out to friends and family. Through podcasts and reporting from their living rooms, talk show hosts and reporters are letting us into their homes like family. It’s personal. Because we ARE all in this together. all humans are susceptible to this bug.

A dictator is a single individual who possesses such extreme power over a government that some people refer to it as “absolute power.” There are degrees of dictatorship, or — if you prefer — individuals who are partially dictators or somewhat dictatorial. Oppressive governments that restrict liberties, deny participation, and abuse human rights overlap considerably, but not entirely, with dictatorships. Because there are more studies and rankings of oppressive governments than of dictatorships, and because the problem is the oppression, not who does it, I’m going to look for a moment at some lists of oppressive governments, before turning to the subject of the dictators who run many of them.

In 2017, Rich Whitney wrote an article for Truthout.org called “U.S. Provides Military Assistance to 73 Percent of World’s Dictatorships.”

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