The other morning I woke up realizing I was angry.
It wasn’t the usual wrong-side-of-the-bed, don’t-talk-to-me-until-I’ve-had-my-hit-of-caffeine sort of indignation.
Nor was it the predictable irritation caused by daylight saving time that vexes me and millions of other reasonable, sleep-deprived souls.
Instead the unspoken, ignored and stifled ire has been simmering for the last year and it’s only now that I’m recognizing the cause.
We are just past the year mark of when the COVID-19 pandemic became real to us here.
The cases in China were another world away. Even the few instances of infection in our Pacific Northwest didn’t seem close to home. And though the first case in San Diego County was reported in Chlula Vista in March, the threat of a pandemic didn’t seem real.
It wasn’t until Gov. Gavin Newsom—rightfully—issued a stay-at-home order that the severity of the situation was evident. Things got serious quick.
People started panic shopping. Initially the act was defensible given most didn’t know how long they would be required to stay at home.
But the shopping became egregious when shelves were ransacked and left empty for days, leaving nothing behind for those who could not get to the stores immediately or had to wait on the kindness of strangers to do the shopping for them.
People were hoarding toiletries and food not just for their households but so that they could also turn a quick profit.
Instead of a take-what-you need approach far too many of us participated in a grab-what-you-can-while-you-can exercise in hostility. Our selfishness left our neighbors, friends and family needlessly vulnerable.
The hoarding is just one example of the me-first philosophy that pervaded.
Over the last 12-plus months we have seen people refusing to put the public good ahead of their own. From anti-maskers to anti-vaxxers to people refusing to acknowledge everyone has the right to be treated justly and fairly.
Of course there are millions of instances in which we demonstrated kindess to each other. Those people and those moments pulled us through.
But I’m angry because I realize I am disappointed in how selfish we have been, even if it was just a few. We didn’t need to be.
