Is That Too Baffling For You?

“Surely, this Instruction which I enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach.” Deuteronomy 30:11 

Why can’t people do as they are told? Or at least, why can’t many Americans do as they are advised? The rules are simple but the task is not completed. What is it about this country that we continue to be confounded by the COVID-19 virus?

At the heart of the problem is fifty years of self-indulgent culture. John F. Kennedy famously said in 1961 “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” The message did not stick.

The “me, my, mine” leitmotif has morphed from the 1960’s through to today’s America. At first it was the self-indulgence of Hippie culture. Hippies declined regulation and challenged authority. The freedom of the 1960s morphed into the self-indulgence of the 1970s. The silent majority began to speak up for their interests. The only consistence was the claim to individual rights. Some claimed as sacrosanct the right to own a gun. Others claimed the right to control their bodies. Elites claimed their entitlement to corporate profits. Whether liberal or conservative, the ideological balance of the country sat on a fulcrum of what is best for me. 

As a nation we reached the apex of self-importance with the election of 2016. The country chose a President who focuses exclusively on what each event and action means for him personally. Soldiers who gave their lives are fools. Anyone who thinks differently is nasty or a loser.

The doctors and scientists have instructed us to maintain safe distances and wear a mask in public. Surely, this instruction is not baffling, nor is it beyond reach. But we have a President and a Weltanschauung that puts individual rights and desires ahead of the collective. Ask not what you can do for your country; demand that the government lets you do whatever you choose, no matter the consequence for others. 

The undoing of our nation in a time of pandemic is directly related to decades of metastasizing self-indulgence. The response to COVID-19 is only one example. We have little hope of rescuing our planet from environmental disaster or preserving peace among nations if we elevate the individual above the collective.

So mask up and stay six feet apart as a spiritual practice. Each time we mask up we can remind ourselves that we do this for the good of all people not just for ourselves. And when we vote in the coming election, let us make choices that are good for all Americans and the planet. This is not too baffling for you, America!

Rabbi Evan J. Krame