Marj Kirlew
My Response to 45’s Positive Test:
As a survivor, I don’t wish this virus on anyone. My case was mild and four months later I am still dealing with the long-term effects that prevent me from functioning like a normal person, which make me feel like finding and holding down a job is impossible.
Emotions are not simple. Many situations are not easily understood, black and white, and clear-cut. 45 has done great damage to our country. He has done harm to us in ways that we may not yet fully understand. To wish suffering on him is to be no different than he is. His game has been “If you are not like me then you are bad. If you do not praise me you are bad. And bad people deserve bad things.”
I will not play that same game. I do not value people only if they are the same as me. Our world, our country is better, stronger, more beautiful, because there are so many different people, cultures, beliefs systems, ways of thinking. We are enriched by our differences, not lessened or threatened by them.
I may despise 45 with every fiber of my being, and I am angrier than I know how to express about what he has done to this country but I do not wish him suffering.
Instead, I am foolish. I hope. I hope that if this is a political ploy to avoid the debates or downplay COVID-19, that it fails. I hope that if he is truly infected that he gains some compassion, some perspective, that he recognizes the severity of this virus and changes his response.
Hope may be one of the most foolish qualities humans possess, but it is what has allowed us to get where we are today. Hope that we could find better sources of food, shelter from the elements, protection from predators. Hope that we could cure disease, find love, that the world could be better for our children.
So I hope. I hope for recovery. I hope for change of heart. I hope for protection for everyone in this country. I hope for health for everyone. I hope for enough to get by for everyone. I hope for a better world.
And yes, I will be taking that hope all the way to the ballot box.