And now … for a healthy dose of uplifting news at a time when we all could use a bit of cheer.
If you’re worrying about the future of our nation — and, for that matter, our planet — consider all the stories we are hearing about the acts of kindness being performed by young people as they help their neighbors during the coronavirus pandemic.
I am struck and frankly a bit stunned at the stories we keep hearing, reading and grasping. Young people are running errands for their elderly neighbors, or even complete strangers. They grasp the notion that some Americans need a helping hand, but lack the mobility that others possess. So they step up, lend a hand — and they do with no strings attached. They realize, to borrow the phrase that’s sweeping the land, that “we’re all in this together.”
“Good Morning America” today featured an organization that sprung up as the pandemic began taking its toll; the organization is called “Invisible Hands.”
Liam Elkind is a 20-something New York City resident who co-founded Invisible Hands. He shops for food and other essentials for neighbors. He is on a state-ordered break from college. He can’t go to the beach or hang out in bars with his pals. So he is extending a helping “invisible hand” to those who need help.
That is just one example of young folks answering the call.
I want to mention this merely to convey what I believe is an example of our nation’s future is in good hands. Sure, the kindness and compassion isn’t limited to young folks. Many millions of Americans of all ages are responding with open hearts as well.
Let’s just be mindful of what is transpiring. It’s a national emergency. States are beginning to lock themselves down. California is the most notable example of the kind of drastic, but necessary, measures that we’re seeing implemented.
Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered every one of the state’s 40 million residents to “stay at home,” and to leave only if they have business that requires them to venture out. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered severe restrictions on the number of people who can gather indoors, a move that has closed restaurants, bars, gymnasiums. These decisions are occurring across the nation.
Young people and others who are physically able are stepping into the breach to lend a much-needed hand.
We’ll get through this. Yes, it might take a good bit of time. The response we’re seeing all over this great land tells me, though, that we’re going to be just fine … and that our future is in good hands.
This, I declare, provides incontrovertible proof of America’s longstanding greatness.
