Planned obsolescence / Corona Virus and the 62 year old white male

The Poetic Inspiration:

My dilemma in all of this pandemic situation.  I am 62 years old, I suffer from an autoimmune disease.  This virus has caused me to look mortality in the eye and to choose to social distance in order to protect myself and others from the virus.  I am also the product of white privilege, something that I have endeavored to remedy by dedicated my life to teaching, social activism and sharing the joy of music.  Lately, I have been feeling rather marginalized by society.  First,  because I know too many people who look at my actions as Quixotic, fighting windmills instead of monsters. Many who have retired comfortably are willing to travel the globe seeking what they feel is merited respite. This is fine by me, but don't look down on me for engaging and giving back to the community that fostered my family.    Second, because I sense that the younger generation looks at my generation (the tail end of the boomers) as being louche, super consumers, passé and a myriad of other pejoratives.  I even had the leader of one of the local organizing groups talk about how tired they were of "chardonnay sipping" Neo-liberals. Finally, I am not willing to be slapped about by both sides, I will not go "gently" I will speak out and continue to work to form alliance, to forge new networks, to give and interact even under the constraints of "social distancing" (whatever the fuck that is) and "sheltering in place" a much more amenable term. 

In other words I am tired of being pigeonholed and holed up in my house (which is privilege) with my wife, piano, computer, and dog (which are blessings). I neither chase windmills nor drink a ton of wine since my autoimmune disease has chosen my liver as its target.  I am worried about our society, especially about the polarization that exists between the far right and the far left.  I am worried about people being more worried about toilet paper than what the folks who serve us every day will do when all of this shuts down.  I worry about the immigrant families, I hope to serve through my support/volunteer work with the Immigration Project and my efforts to help create a Welcoming America in McLean County.  I worry about the service industry and how reliant our culture is on those individuals who work in that area.   I don't not plan to "go gently".

Like many of our grandparents, Immigrant  families have left their homelands seeking a better place for their families and hoping to add to the American Dream only to be treated with great disdain, persecution, abuse and neglect.  They desperately need people to help them navigate this country and will need our love and compassion as we focus on doing what we must do to survive this viral invasion.  To leave them out of the solution is to leave out the future for our innovation and growth. 

I am also worried about how privilege and the disparity between economic levels has made many comfortable with keeping those who serve in positions of weakness both economically and socially.  Everybody from nurses to librarians, from grocery clerks to stylists, from musicians to food delivery workers, thrives on the interactions of social enterprise.  How will these people be safe throughout this crisis?  I don't just mean safe from the virus, but also safe from the economic ravages of this downturn?  If this is so, now during crisis, we have to ask when we get past this what wasn't in place to make sure they were safe from the beginning?  Why is it that we are so willing to let our services be covered at such small price and without a safety net?  These are questions that society needs to address as we roll out plans to see that these people are safe and cared for in the interim. 

I am terrified by the hoarders, the opportunists and the right and left wing advocating for violence against our democracy.  To those who hoard, may you be forced to live surrounded by things rather than creatures of light.  To the opportunists, you who make money off of other peoples' need may you blight from the gold that you have gathered.  To the extremists, I don't even know how to curse you. 
Where is your ability to pull people together? You are so busy appealing to a targeted group. Whether you target the "haves" or the "have nots" it is always the middle that has the power to coalesce, get off their sofas and make things happen. 

I am inspired by teachers, scientists, poets, artist, musicians  mystics, they are my hope.  Teachers, reach out to help spark the urge to figure things out, to work out problems, to connect with the broader world in search of solutions, innovations and connections.  Scientists, don't settle for uncertainty.  They continue to unravel the most mysterious of things, to look at complex systems and find ways to crack the codes that keep us alive and thriving.  Poets, are express talkers.  They have uncanny insights that are telegraphed across wide spaces, insights able to endure over time and bridge cultural gaps.   
Artists and musicians seek to communicate via our senses.  They use colors, textures, resonances and harmonies that can heal, calm and energize the spirits.  They use a language that speaks to all living creatures with any ability to see, touch, hear or sense pulse.  Mystics help us to understand that the things that link us together aren't always tangible.  That there are forces between us that defy all rational thought as we know it now.  It may be that quantum mechanics will unravel this subatomic level of spirit talk, but I am convinced that it will not diminish its importance to the vitality of all humanity. 
Connect, gentle reader, be compassionate and share.  You can be gentle with each other, but don't "go gentle" into the darkness of this pandemic.