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How embarrassing is it that the World Health Organization has now stated that the United States of America is likely to be the next epicenter of the battle to survive Covid-19? How is it that the most powerful country in the world doesn’t have enough protective gear for our healthcare workers heroically fighting this scourge? How is it that we can’t get enough tests to even find out how many people are spreading the virus? How is it that we could tolerate the president lying to us repeatedly every day? And how is it that one of the things we Americans are hoarding (besides toilet paper)is guns? Scarcity can make us do pretty desperate things, especially those who are predisposed to hate people for how they look, who they love or how they vote. Folks, we are so much better than this. Most of our neighbors are good people going about their workaday lives, doing no harm, trying to do what’s right. They’ve been told that what’s right is wrong, that the facts are lies, that science can be ignored, that those who are in need only take. And that those who take have every right to do so. We really are better than this. I’ve spent the better part of my life being lucky enough to be in a position to get folks together to try to solve problems we all agree need to be solved. This agency has gotten help from every corner of our community: those who have, those who can, regardless of their politics. Churches, synagogues, companies, especially banks, elected officials, academics and others. We’ve created shelters for those who have no homes, food banks for those who can’t pay their bills, loan programs for those who can’t get conventional financing, assistance for those buying into the American Dream, those who have been ripped off, discriminated against or oppressed. But this one, this one, I don’t know. I don’t know where it leads, I don’t know when or whether it stops and how we get in its way. I do know that most of you are damn good people who want to make our community better, not just for yourselves but for those who are not as lucky. We really are so much better than this. ...