LifeZette has had an opportunity to talk to people all over the nation about the response of their communities to the coronavirus. The results are encouraging. The feelings are comparable to London under the Blitz, “We can take it.”
New York, Maryland, and South Florida: This analyst lives in Maryland, but is a New Yorker who grew up in South Florida. I have relatives and friends in all those locales and many are doing their bit to help the nation.
Maryland is under an 8 p.m. curfew starting Monday night. But the mood here is cautiously optimistic. People are obeying the guidelines and behaving decently.
New Yorkers are with the program, as they are in the center of the outbreak and know what is at stake. South Florida, normally a gregarious area of social interaction, has buckled down. People tell us there of a community spirit like they’ve never seen before.
Stacy Shea in South Carolina and Elissa Hopkins in North Carolina: Southern manners have made this crisis easier to bear in the Carolinas, as people are looking after their neighbors and volunteering to help others.
Kim Kilbourne in Ohio: Small town Ohio has always been a place where people look after each other. This event has brought out the best in most and many are comparing it to the time immediately after 9/11.
Paula Rice and Shelly Mateer in California: People are scared, as the virus numbers climb. Most public places are shut down and some wonder if the Leftist state government in Sacramento has gone too far. People in service jobs are pulling extreme hours. The homeless, who pervade the state’s big cities, are at serious risk to themselves and, if they inadvertently spread the virus, to others. Something must be done.
Jennifer Zuckschwerdt in Michigan: People in rural Michigan have always been self-reliant and this is no exception. Many are volunteering to help older veterans and health services. They are not pleased with Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who many feel has a cynical political agenda and is trying to use the coronavirus to advance it.
Bob Wert in Pennsylvania: People are out and about in neighborhoods and doing their bit for the national effort. Most are working from home and making the best of it.
Lois Dietrich in Texas: No virus is tough enough to stop Texans. There is a laconic mood of endurance and Texans are rising to the occasion in most towns across the state.
While there are places that are having issues, most of the nation is committed to the task and, increasingly, to the president who is leading the country. In some ways, through this crucible, this could be America’s finest hour.
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