A Two-Way Street

Good Afternoon and Good Evening All - Hope you're enjoying this lovely weather on a Sunday afternoon in May!

As with most things, this COVID-19 pandemic, and the multiple governmental and administrative responses to it, have generated arguments and disputes.  I've certainly got my own opinion on this subject, but I'm also aware of what the likely responses that Stoicism and Emotional Maturity would provide.

(1)  We Shouldn't Have to Socially Distance or Stay-At-Home.

True.

It sucks.  It's unnatural.  It's uncomfortable.  It's frustrating.  It's leading many businesses towards ruin, and it's depleting the funds available for unemployment and other business relief.  Nobody is arguing that this is all a good thing.

Nonetheless, when statewide and/or national emergencies happen, the power of the proper authorities are temporarily extended and increased in ways that unfortunately look like totalitarian police states.  We didn't cause the problem, we didn't make the problem worse, and we don't deserve the punishment.  But much like the times our parents, or a school administrator, or a boss made a bunch of stupid rules that everyone with half a brain hated, we'll just have to temporarily toe the line for a temporary measure.

We have the right to free speech, under the First Amendment, to tell the world loud and long how much it sucks, and not care who knows it.  However, the fact that we have the right to do it doesn't necessarily make it the smart thing to do, let alone the best thing.

Yes, I know, the Government and the State are not our parents or our bosses.  They still have the power to enact and execute laws that they deem fit for the protection of society at large, and we don't.

Having accepted the truth that we lack authority in this area, as much as we despise it, we must acknowledge that we simply aren't helping anyone by complaining about things we cannot control.  We're just continuing a cycle of frustration that gets worse and worse through no other cause but our own.  As the ancients taught us, it is not things, but our reactions to things that cause us anger and grief.

Accept What Is, and Cannot Be Otherwise, and Live With It.  If that means moving around less, wearing a goofy mask, and staying 6-12 feet away from other people (which some of us were already doing before this all happened), then just do it.  It could be better, but it could also be hella lot worse.

(2)  If I'm Social Distancing, So Should They!

This is where we can get into even more trouble.

Nobody likes it when we commit ourselves the aforementioned stupid rules, and there's always someone who thinks the rules don't apply to him or her.  That's even more annoying, aggravating assinine, and undesirable than these rules themselves.

However, other people's behavior, much like the actions of governmental officials that we're not ok with, remains far beyond our control.  It was Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus themselves who reminded us that we need not be triggered, outraged, or infuriated by how "them other suckers don't know how to act," because it's not they themselves who are causing this outrage.  It's still us.

If you're angered by other people's decision not to toe the line and wear a mask, that's not really their problem.  As long as you're doing so, you shouldn't be concerned about any exposure to COVID-19.  You also shouldn't be concerned about how their conduct should affect you (because it shouldn't).

Use This Time To Our Advantage:

This is less a time for pandemonium and paranoia than it is an opportunity to grow and become strengthened by adversity. 

Perhaps, instead of complaining about that which we know to be unpleasant, illogical, and sometimes painful, we might be better off trudging through it, knowing full well that it will end, and that we will survive it, hopefully better off than before.

"THIS TOO SHALL PASS."

I EXIST.  I MATTER.  I BELONG.  I DESERVE.

RESPECT ALL.  BEFRIEND FEW.  LOVE ONE.  HATE NONE.

STOICISM.  EMOTIONAL MATURITY.  POINT OF EVAPORATION.