Working together, we can save lives

Toilet paper? Bottled water?

Come on, folks, let’s get a grip.

Irrational behavior and panic shopping have been joined at the hip for a long, long time.

But this sort of nonsense is particularly disappointing when the world is dealing with an unprecedented challenge.

Buying more toilet paper or bottled water or bread or milk or hand sanitizer than you could possibly need is simply selfish.

Buying those things so you can try to sell them later at a profit on eBay is downright despicable.

If ever there were a time when people need to pull together for the common good, this is such a time.

The next few weeks and months aren’t going to be easy. They aren’t going to be fun. And there will be sacrifice involved.

Doing without March Madness and the opening day of the Major League Baseball season constitutes an inconvenience. But if that inconvenience can “flatten the curve” of the spread of COVID-19 so that the nation’s health care system won’t be overwhelmed, it’s worth it.

The same is true of closing schools, postponing large gatherings, washing your hands, covering your mouth when you cough and substituting an elbow bump for a handshake or a hug.

Those small changes in our behavior — if we act together — can save lives.

But to do that we have to think beyond ourselves.

In other words, this isn’t just about you. It’s about us. All of us.

That’s what real patriotism is about. That’s what love of country is about. That’s what a little thing called the Golden Rule is all about.

So, if you happened to get carried away at Walmart or some other retail outlet the other day and filled your cart to the brim, you might want to make some calls to your neighbors or the homeless shelter or your church to see if there’s someone who might need a helping hand.

Do that, and you’ll be able to look back at this moment in history with a modicum of pride instead of a sense of shame. — J.R.