What Is Important To Us?

When this coronavirus pandemic became the center of our attention, we lifted the veil on our lives and exposed what is important and what is not. It started with the quarantine. If you remember, when the guidelines came out, they told everyone to stay home except for the people who are in critical industries or jobs. Now we know who they are...

• doctors and nurses
• pharmacy and pharmacists
• groceries stores and employees
• EMS and first responders, police, fire, and ambulance
• truck drivers and delivery services
• transportation personnel
• gas stations
• utilities crew
• National guards and the armed forces
• medical technicians and research personnel
• farmers and ranchers

Our society is in a state of imbalanced. Prior to this crisis, we reward professional athletes and celebrities and Wall Street traders and bankers and artists and news anchors and political pundits more than the people listed above. Yet, in a crisis, we found they are not necessary for our survival.

When the chips are down, the most critical jobs are related to health, to food production and distribution and energy production and distribution and first responders. These are people who takes care of the sick, feed us, and provide us with needed energy and security. Everything else is a luxury.

Think about all the activities we engage in in a typical week. How much of those activities are necessary, and how much is leisure?

The things that are necessary is small compared to our complex lives. It was not always this way. In the distant past, when we were hunters and gathers, we spent most of our time just surviving and getting food and building shelter. As we develop farming, and organized into towns and cities with the division of labor, we became more affluent and increased our leisure time. With the invention of modern conveniences and readily cheap energy and transportation, we are even more affluent and the standard of living is much higher. With increased leisure time, we engaged in the arts and music and sports and entertainment and games and movies and TV shows and travel...cruises. As it turned out, they are all luxuries. Not that they are any less desirable, but just less needed. In a crisis, we refer back to the basics.

I am sure once this crisis is over, and our country moves on and return back to normalcy, life will return as pre-coronavirus. Let's not forget who the important people are that kept us safe.

in addition, remember your family and friends and associates. They were there for you and kept life meaningful. In a time of crisis, we turned to our loved ones for emotional support. That is the lesson and the silver lining.