EDITORIAL: Community pulling together when it matters most

Published 11:16 am Thursday, March 26, 2020

People helping people. 

We could not be more proud of our community. 

Sewing groups helping to make masks for health care workers. Employers checking in on their staff to make sure their personal needs are being met at home.

Thanking people who are still having to work, staffing a drive-through or checking out groceries, for all the extra work they are having to do in these challenging times. 

Nurses, doctors and respiratory therapists pulling extra shifts and maybe even putting themselves at risk in order to help keep the rest of us stay healthy. 

Volunteers, nonprofits and churches helping feed young people who are out of school and may not otherwise be able to eat a nutritious meal.

Helping friends and neighbors. 

Helping total strangers. 

These are the things we have seen and heard this past week. 

This is our community. 

This is what community is all about. 

Sure, there is some unnecessary hoarding going on where people rather selfishly buy more than their fair share of eggs, milk or toilet paper, meaning others who need the exact same things must just go without. 

We can all be better than that and be much more thoughtful about the needs of the herd. 

Putting others above self is humanity at its very best. 

These are challenging times. 

People are understandably fearful. 

While social distancing may be pulling us apart in physical ways, a spirit of community is pulling us together in all the ways that matter the most.