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As I sit here on a tropical island in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean, I am not at the epicenter of this world pandemic. Yet life is far from normal these days.
I love sitting on my front porch in the late afternoon like this getting fresh air. The one most noticeable difference right now is that there are no commercial flights going over and not even the occasional military fighters. Just an occasional small plane and a helicopter or two. But still plenty of birds as usual.
As my wife and I mostly just stay home since we are retired and I just go out to pick up food and supplies and come straight back, that gives us plenty of time to consider the important things in life. She is doing a lot of personal Bible studies. I am, while still very much attuned to God’s plan in all this, keeping up on events here and around the world.
Here in the normally bustling City and County of Honolulu on the island of Oahu, in the not-that-long-ago past, it was tempting to complain about too much traffic and crowding. Right now, the opposite is the case with closed hotels and a shut-down tourist industry. Malls and all non-essentials are closed and only food places are available for takeout.
Who would have ever thought that Hawaii would have to prevent tourists from coming here by requiring a 14-day quarantine in their hotel room? Local Mayors have now asked President Trump to stop all air traffic completely from coming to Hawaii. Not even our Governor has the authority to do that.
Hawaii has thus far not suffered the exponential spread of COVID-19 as have other locales on the United States mainland. As of Thursday, April 2nd, there are 285 cases here in the State of Hawaii, of which 206 are here on this island with the rest on Hawaii Island, Maui and Kauai. The 2nd death has just occurred.
But as I follow what is going on in New York City, it is heart-wrenching to see the agony that people are suffering. I think it is safe to venture to say that life is not normal anywhere in this country or around the world since this pandemic began.
We all long to know whether things will ever be as they were before. My own personal assessment of that is that things will never be as we have experienced them up until now.
So, now we all have a lot of time in our homes to reflect on what this mortal existence is all about. Virtually all entertainment, sports and pleasure time activities have been suspended.
There has already been one tragic sensational domestic violence case here in Hawaii which may be attributable to the difficulties of being confined with those with whom you had chosen to share your life. This will severely test the cohesion of family units. Do they have common values that endure even in a time of crisis?
We are being reminded that human nature does not change just because our environment and our circumstances change. Those who are selfish and self-centered will remain so. Those who care more about others than about their own ego will demonstrate that inner nature as things unfold.
I’m being a bit introspective here, as it is my nature to do. But we also need to consider the wider picture. What are the ramifications for the world and for the geopolitical situation during this time?
When all the embellishments are stripped away, world leaders will be tested and have to show their mettle. Just as in the Kumbaya moment that followed 9/11/2001, we now see that those who have it within themselves to do so will see our common cause to survive and will shed all political and career ambitions.
The first case that comes to mind is the Captain of the United States Aircraft Carrier Theodore Roosevelt which is now in Guam with numerous coronavirus cases among the crew. He wrote a letter to his chain of command pleading with the Navy to elevate their efforts to protect sailors under his charge in an environment where social distancing is absolutely impossible. As anticipated, he has now been relieved of duty and his career is virtually over. But, he did what he felt was right and necessary, whatever the personal expense.
President Trump has also very much taken this crisis to heart in the last few days. I won’t speculate as to what exactly it was that finally got his attention. But it’s obvious that he now realizes this is an existential struggle that determines the future of our country and of all Americans.
We can only hope that Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee will also realize that we must work together to get through this even in a political election year. I wasn’t around in 1940, but I’ve always heard that America re-elected President Franklin Delano Roosevelt for an unprecedented third term as the war clouds gathered because they knew that it was not time to have a different leader at the helm.
I truly believe we are in this situation now. Our international foes are not going to let up. Quite the contrary, they are going to try to exploit the situation and see whether we as a nation are able to multitask and respond accordingly even as so many of our countrymen are perishing from the virus.
When I first heard the announcement from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the United States military would take the lead in interdicting narcotics coming from Venezuela, my first reaction was to ask why was Department of Homeland Security being sidelined. Then, it became apparent that Iran and their surrogate Hezbollah are behind this to attempt to further undermine our society when they think we are susceptible and vulnerable.
Likewise, China (who I sincerely believe purposely engineered this worldwide pandemic) is very much using it only in the interests of the Chinese Communist Party elite, Xi Jinping and his minions.
A Chinese vessel has rammed a Japanese warship and it was apparently deliberate. The militarization of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea continues unabated and probably accelerated.
That’s why I believe this military operation in the Caribbean may very well also be intended to send a message to China that we in America do indeed still know how to walk and chew gum at the same time. We are not going to let our enemies, of any ideological orientation anywhere in the world take advantage of us while we are dealing with this COVID-19 crisis.
Americans have always been at our best when we realize that we as a nation are all on the same side despite our disagreements on various political issues. I fully disagree with most Democrats on just about every social platform. But I do believe in my heart that the majority of them, if they will just admit it even to themselves, do realize that our national survival is at stake not only in the midst of a health crisis, but also that we must stand united against our enemies abroad who sense blood in the water and are ready to make a shark attack.
It is already also apparent among our friends around the world which ones are true friends and not just opportunists. My own background, having spent most of my adult life in the Asia-Pacific region, along with my vantage point here in Hawaii at America’s Mid-Pacific Frontier, enables me to keep in touch with what is transpiring.
The two countries at this point that we should work most closely with in this part of the world are Japan and Australia. Both have stable political systems and values of mutual respect.
I spent three years in the Philippines back during the Marcos era and it has always been and remains a second home for me. I am deeply troubled to see the disturbing actions of current Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is most aptly described as an accident looking for a place to happen. But the Fil-Am relationship will endure.
We must also stand by our ally Taiwan and not allow Beijing to bully them, let alone to ever actually invade and subjugate them. As a nation founded upon principle, if we were ever to abandon Taiwan, all our foreign policy after that would be nothing more than whistling in the wind.
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I bring all this up because, as I said at the beginning, we have come down to determining what really matters and what doesn’t really matter. We can live our lives without entertainment for a season. We can hunker down and avoid spreading the virus. But, we must preserve our values. That includes personal values, family values and national values.
So, then, do we really have any American national values that are essential, indispensable and non-negotiable? I’m not going here in this brief essay to attempt to define, list and categorize them all. Suffice it to say, that in my estimation, they do exist.
What are they? I will leave you with that question to answer in your own heart! America will survive as we all determine in our innermost beings what life is all about and why we are on this planet amidst an infinite universe beyond.
We all realize that we are mortal. We will not live forever here on earth. Whether or not there is a COVID-19 pandemic does not alter that indisputable fact.
I’m not going to preach to you or give you a theological dissertation. I will just admonish you, one and all, to be sure you are prepared for what lies ahead. If what you see around you now doesn’t get your attention, chances are nothing will before it’s too late.
What matters most to you? Does the Creator of the universe have a Master Plan for us all? Or is this just the inevitable entropy in a meaningless existence?
One thing for sure is that life will never return to what it was before. Now that we’ve got a lot of time on our hands, staying home and avoiding the spread of COVID-19, this is a perfect time for us all to answer that most basic existential question of all.
Will we just extend our mortal lives a few more years or will we thrive? This is not a decision made in the halls of power in national capitals around the world. This is your opportunity and clarion call to make that ultimate decision for yourself.
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The COVID-19 crisis will pass. So may this unprecedented opportunity for introspection during a time uncluttered by distractions when we can focus upon what really matters.
What will it be like tomorrow, next week, next month, next year? Actually, that is the wrong pronoun. Not what will “it” be like, but rather what will “we” be like? Ask yourself: “What will ‘I’ be like?”
If you don’t like the answer to that question, now is the time to change course. I recommend The Answer in John 3:16-17.
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Image via Gage Skidmore.
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