VIEWPOINTS
Saturday, December 4, 2021
East Oregonian
A5
DICK
HUGHES
OTHER VIEWS
There is
no back
to normal
I
t was supposed to be over long ago.
Only a month or two. Then life
would be back to normal.
Back to eating in open, pleasantly
staffed restaurants. Back to hanging
out with family and friends in real
life instead of over the internet. Back
to sitting at office desks and wearing
proper business attire. Back to attend-
ing sporting events in person without
donning masks and showing proof of
vaccinations.
Instead, the COVID-19 pandemic
rolls on — like a roller coaster with its
ups and downs, bringing out the best
in Oregonians. And sometimes the
worst.
We laud health care workers for
their skills and endurance amid long
hours. Then a few of us turn around
and question whether these dedicated
medical personnel did all they could to
prevent our loved one’s demise from
COVID-19.
We finally appreciate that store
clerks are essential workers. Yet if a
store runs out of goods, some of us
turn surly, or worse. We unload our
wrath on clerks, expecting them to
exert a mystical power that undoes the
global supply chain bottlenecks.
We love being back in eateries and
drinking establishments. But some of
us ignore the national labor shortage
and blame the existing workers if short
staffing delays our meal. Indeed, blam-
ing seems ever more popular, pushing
aside gratitude.
Amid all this, we give mere lip
service to honoring our democracy,
as our minds fall victim to loudmouth
extremists across the political spec-
trum.
Yes, we long for a return to normal.
But that normal no longer exists, and
never will. There is no going back. The
pandemic has inexorably altered how
we go about our daily lives, from how
we shop to how we worship and how
we obtain health care.
There is nothing to be gained by
pining for the past. But there is room
for gratitude. In fact, there is much
for which to be thankful, although not
always at first glance.
Let us start with the reality that
being governor amid a pandemic has
proved a thankless job. Yet two dozen
men and women already are running
in hopes of winning that job. Some are
well-qualified, giving Oregonians a
wide range of choices among political
insiders and outsiders in next year’s
elections. There will be change, but
how much? As the two main political
parties turn ever-more-partisan, will
this be the era when Oregonians go
independent?
And while the labor shortage has
created havoc, the income gap among
Oregonians has narrowed a bit. As
employers have increased pay, espe-
cially at the bottom rungs, workers
earning less than $20 an hour are
experiencing real economic improve-
ment despite inflation.
Along with an economic reckon-
ing has come a refocus on family.
Some employers have adjusted their
work requirements and schedules to
make them more family-friendly, the
jobs more appealing and, ultimately,
the workers more productive and
loyal. Meanwhile, there is continued
progress toward increasing access to
decent, affordable child care through-
out the state and the nation, enabling
more parents to enter the workforce.
Schools have innovated. Distance
learning was difficult for many
students and underscored the divide
between the broadband haves and the
have nots. Yet some students flour-
ished with distance learning, under-
scoring the need for a rich array of
teaching methods.
Health care providers have
expanded doctor visits by telephone
and video, cutting the wait time for
many appointments. Yet access to
care remains an issue. Vaccines, while
imperfect, have proved effective. New
medicines may further reduce the
severity of COVID-19 symptoms — if
Oregon can get those prescriptions to
newly diagnosed patients in time.
We could go on and on.
Our resilience has been tested.
Our nerves have been frayed. Yet our
nimbleness and creativity have been
unleashed.
And there’s even a chance that we
can learn to be a bit nicer to each other,
despite our personal frustrations and
political differences. For that, we give
thanks.
———
Dick Hughes has been covering the
Oregon political scene since 1976.
Look for the good — it’s always there
LINDSAY
MURDOCK
FROM SUNUP TO SUNDOWN
T
he smell of sweat mixed with
popcorn made my nose tingle as I
shoved a licorice rope further into
my coat pocket. The bold words “effort,
attitude, sportsmanship, attention and
preparedness” caught my eye as I entered
through the side door of the gym.
Basketballs were bouncing in a rhythm
all their own, and the bottoms of clean,
new shoes squeaked and screeched their
way up, down, and all around the court.
Basketball season had arrived, and I found
myself once again in a place I’ve grown to
love as a spectator, observer and onlooker
of some pretty great moments.
I climbed the steps of the bleachers
one level at a time while the two teams
warmed up, looking for a vantage point
that would give me an unobstructed view
of both ends of the court — not too close,
but not too far away either. I wanted to
be able to see clearly, but I also wanted
to blend in a bit too, standing out without
standing up at all.
Was there such a place for me to watch
from? Does a place like that even really
exist? A place where perspective isn’t just
a physical location, but a mindset as well? I
wasn’t there to visit with everyone around
me, nor was I there to rehash the calls the
refs may or may not make, and I certainly
wasn’t there to get caught up in any sort
of sideline drama about ball hogs or bad
coaching techniques. I was there to cheer
as loudly or as quietly as I needed to for
my boys, their teammates and even their
coaches. I was there to see more good than
bad when the score wasn’t in our favor, and
I was there to keep my own set of stats that
had nothing to do with rebounds or take-
downs. I continued smiling at the famil-
iar faces around me while I unfolded my
comfy stadium seat, also acknowledging a
few strangers near me with a hopeful nod,
and then quietly sat down. The game was
about to begin, and even without setting
foot on the court, I knew I had a pretty
critical role to play as well.
From the sidelines of football fields, to
ringside in show barns, and even near half
court inside school gymnasiums, many
of our stories hold tight to the places and
spaces in which we have witnessed so
much of our children’s lives unfold. Season
after season, year after year, many hours
have been spent as spectators of highs and
lows, and everything in between. In fact,
I bet if you close your eyes right now, you
can clearly see years of Christmas perfor-
mances, a missed free throw or five, a
buzzer beating shot, maybe a slam dunk,
some amazing tackles, the correct feet
placement of show animals at just the right
time, and even a dance move or two that
took your breath away that happened right
in front of you from the bleachers.
I would also bet that you can hear
judges speaking about how one small
change could lead to improvement, teach-
ers sincerely applauding students’ efforts
of getting homework done and turned in
on time, and coaches shouting plays from
the bench or even the dugout as you make
your way down the memory lane of life
in the stands. These experiences have not
only provided us with opportunities to
learn the art of observation, but they’ve
also extended our understanding of what
the word “impress” really means and how
impressions leave lasting marks, not just
on the players, but on the people in the
stands, too.
Many of us will be entering through a
variety of gym doors over the course of
the next few months. We will be filling
the stands and sidelines to watch a select
few play a game that allows only one team
to win. We will be given opportunities
to cheer, support, and encourage the best
we know how. Will we get it right every
time? Absolutely not. But wouldn’t it be
the coolest thing to know that our role in
the audience as the bleacher people helped
get everyone a little closer to the finish line
in the greatest ways possible? That’s the
impression I want to make and one I hope
you do, too.
Be discerning, think before you react to
something you have no control over, look
for the good (because it’s always there),
and make a conscious effort to lean away
from criticism and into grace, because the
truth is, even bleacher people can leave an
impression in the greatest of games.
———
Lindsay Murdock lives and teaches in
Echo.
Addressing addiction problems in the new year
JOSEPH
KERTIS
OTHER VIEWS
T
hanksgiving has come and gone, and
largely, we survived. The COVID-
19 pandemic put last year’s festivi-
ties on hold, so these holidays are the first
opportunity that many have had to gather
and celebrate. But this could also mean that
many people who’ve become addicted to
drugs and alcohol are seeing their family
again, which could bring a lot of things to
light.
That’s because the COVID-19 pandemic
drastically worsened America’s already
horrific drug epidemic. Last year was the
deadliest year for drug overdoses in Amer-
ican history. More than 93,000 people
died of an overdose in 2020, which was an
increase of more than 30% from the previ-
ous year’s total, as reported by the National
Institute on Drug Abuse. And in 2021,
those numbers are still climbing.
So, we have a large number of people
who have begun abusing substances or
have increased their use, leading to the
worst point we’ve seen in our country’s
history of addiction. And many of them
will be joining their families for the holi-
days, a time of year when addiction is
usually at its worst.
According to Marcel Gemme of
Addicted.org, the holidays are already a
recipe for overindulgence. Many people’s
holiday plans involve consumption of at
least alcohol, which can easily lead to
misuse. Those who already struggle with
addiction may find the holidays bring up
negative emotions or additional scrutiny
from family members. They may use even
more substances to cope with the negative
feelings or try to hide their drug use. All
these things can lead to consuming drugs
or alcohol when one might otherwise not.
With addiction rates increasing and
more people gathering this holiday season
than any time since 2019, the chances of
the year ending in tragedy are much higher
than experts would like to see. But instead
of preparing for the worst, this time could
be viewed as an opportunity to solve the
problem.
A solution to America’s drug epidemic
is needed. We have poured an excessive
amount of time, attention and resources
into fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, and
those efforts are what are allowing us to
have this holiday experience in 2021. Tack-
ling the nation’s addiction problem with
even a fraction of the same intensity level
given to COVID-19 could potentially end
one of the worst public health threats we’ve
ever known.
After all, drug overdoses alone have
taken more lives than the coronavirus has
in America, with a death toll that’s more
than 25% higher. And that’s only taking
into account drug overdoses since 1999
and does not include other drug-related
deaths such as those from accidents and
illnesses.
This new year, let’s aim to address this
problem once and for all. We can each go
on hoping it gets better, which it isn’t, or we
can do something about it.
Taking action to solve addiction may
start small. But it starts with each of us.
Take this time to see your loved ones and
really check on how they’re doing. You
might just save the life of someone you
love, and that’s all that matters whether
we’re fighting COVID-19 or addiction.
———
Joseph Kertis is an experienced health
care expert turned journalist. His expe-
rience in the field gives a unique insight
into one of our nation’s most challenging
professions. He utilizes this knowledge in
his writing to give an expert viewpoint that
spreads awareness through education. He is
a featured author of the health care website
ECDOL.