Received this forwarded e-mail this morning:
I‘m a very "selfish" person. At least that is what I’ve been told by some during this coronavirus crisis. I have been calling for the reopening of our country almost since day one. Since then, I have reiterated my claim on a daily basis. I will stand by my feelings that we should have NEVER closed down in the first place! But we did, so now the point is moot.
What I am sick of are the “virtuous” people who want to stay in a lockdown maybe forever (or until there is a vaccine, they say). How good of you. How caring. How condescending! You are perfectly happy staying home as long as your mail gets delivered each day. You are perfectly happy staying home as long as your air conditioner works and you have electricity. You are perfectly happy staying home as long as your cable TV is running. You are perfectly happy staying home as long as you can work on your internet. Who do you think makes sure your garbage is picked up? Who is running the companies and warehouses so you can get your precious goods and stay at home? Who do you think is working on the farms and factories to make sure there is food at the grocery stores? Who transports those good to the stores? You stay at home based on the idea that “others” have to risk their health so you can protect yours. You sit on your sanctimonious asses and tell those of us that want to go out that we are "selfish" and only care about ourselves. Have you shopped at Walmart, Target, Costco or any of the supermarkets since this shutdown started? Who do you think is working at these places? PEOPLE! People just like you- except they are risking their lives every day so that you can have all the things you need while you “stay at home.”
The medical people are also on the front lines so that in case you get sick, there will be someone there to care for you. I don’t see the police and firemen staying home.
You want to stay home? Then stay home! Nobody is making you go out. You can have everything delivered to your door.
For those of us who want to get on with our lives – let us! Don’t you dare stand on your pious platforms and lecture US about selfishness!! As our economy collapses around us, there are people and companies that will not weather this. They are hard-working Americans that for some reason were told they were not “essential.”
Going out means we can get the virus, flu or some other ailment. We take risks every day. Life itself is a risk.
If you want to stay home, that is YOUR choice. It's not mine. The rest of us want to get this economy up and running. Getting us back up and running does NOT mean I want people to die. We need to take protective measures for our people and our country so that people can live. We need to reopen so that people can live! Maybe I'm not the "selfish" one after all.