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MWEG Member Op-Ed :: ‘When It Comes to Wearing a Mask, Just Do It’
“Let’s talk about our social contracts. There are laws and policies that dictate what we have to wear. Most states, and many cities, including Provo, have decency laws that require adults to wear a certain amount of clothing. Why? Because it protects me when I wear them, and it protects you and makes you feel more comfortable. Many businesses have policies that state, “No shoes, no shirt, no service.” Why? Because it protects the business against liability from injury or discomfort of their customers and employees. There are also many people who adhere to certain dress codes because of religious instruction. Are you one of them?” Click here for the…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Love One Another — But How?
Last Sunday, I was re-reading the April 2020 General Conference talks. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has always been one of my favorite speakers. His talk: A Perfect Brightness of Hope was special. This section stood out to me: “We pray for those who have lost loved ones in this modern plague, as well as for those who are currently infected or at risk. We certainly pray for those who are giving such magnificent health care. When we have conquered this — and we will — may we be equally committed to freeing the world from the virus of hunger, freeing neighborhoods and nations from the virus of poverty. May we…
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Are You Aware? COVID-19 in Indian Country
This is part IV in our “Nation to Nation” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. The effects of COVID-19 in Indian Country have been devastating. COVID hit Indian Country later than many other places in America. The Navajo Nation was the first. The Navajo reservation is the size of West Virginia, making it the largest reservation in the United States. With 170,000 people living there, it is sparsely populated. The Diné (their preferred name) keep themselves fed and warm by sheep herding. The sheep are used for food and sheared for the wool to make yarn for weaving. Known worldwide for their beauty, Navajo rugs are…
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Are You Aware? An Effort to Hear
This is part VI in our Awareness Wednesday series on disability. Read the other posts in the series here. As the daughter and sister of physicians on the COVID-19 front lines, I’m a dutiful adherent of social distancing and mask wearing these days. But, as a person with total hearing loss, these strategies are hard. Social distancing means sound is farther from me. Mask wearing makes speechreading nearly impossible and further muffles the sound. As Roberta Cordano, the president of Gallaudet University, said in a recent New York Times article entitled “For the Deaf, Social Distancing Can Mean Social Isolation,” “The ‘two adults, six feet apart’ standard carries its own inherent…
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MWEG Member Op-Ed :: “An Epidemiologist’s View on Personal Liberty and Mask-Wearing”
“The tricky part is that we can’t eliminate COVID-19 by focusing only on our individual liberty — we have to exercise a kind of generous, communal commitment to liberty as a principle. We have to believe in protecting the liberty of another as much as protecting the liberty of ourselves, and that belief has to drive us to make some necessary personal sacrifices.” MWEG member Chantel Sloan is an infectious disease epidemiologist who has a front-row seat to COVID-19. Read more of her thoughts on the pandemic, mask-wearing, and freedom in this Deseret News opinion piece. “An Epidemiologist’s View on Personal Liberty and Mask-Wearing” • May 27, 2020 • Deseret…
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Are You Aware? Who Will Survive?
This is part V in our “battlefronts” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. So many of us are home with our families and are relatively safe and going out infrequently. Imagine if the situation were different. Imagine trying to survive in this time without a home. Many homeless people are afraid to go into shelters at this time. They fear the close quarters and the infection rates in the shelters. Earlier this month 94 men tested positive at a homeless shelter in Salt Lake City. Recently in the Boston area all residents and staff at certain homeless shelters were tested for COVID-19. At one of these…
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MWEG Member Op-Ed :: “Trump’s Name Is All Over This Catastrophe”
“It’s unusual, to say the least, that Donald Trump’s name is on the stimulus check being mailed to millions of Americans starting this month. No previous U.S. president has put his name on a Treasury check, as if the money in the Treasury were his own and he were a personal benefactor to American citizens. And yet, in a symbolic sense, it’s fitting that the president’s name should be on that check.” Click here to read MWEG member Stefanie Condie’s Salt Lake Tribune op-ed outlining why Trump’s name is all over the catastrophic loss of life and livelihood we’re seeing as a result of COVID-19. Trump’s Name Is All Over This Catastrophe…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Succor
As we continue to stay at home all over the country for COVID-19, many thoughts run through my mind. Many of us look at the isolation negatively at times. We miss the touch of loved ones — those handshakes at church or hugs from friends. We miss the freedom of travel and the ability to enjoy family and friends across the country. Many deal with becoming instant homeschoolers. Personally, we had looked forward to more travel, attending sealings, sporting events, and more. Those plans are on pause. For most, we are isolated in bubbles. We are safe at home, antsy for our norms. For far too many, jobs are gone,…
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MWEG Member Op-Ed :: “Congress Does Not ‘CARE’ About My American Family”
“Intentionally disqualifying millions of Americans from much-needed stimulus funds during this unprecedented health crisis is both unnecessary and cruel. It also further contributes to the demonization of immigration and labeling of immigrants—and their citizen family members—as unworthy.” MWEG member Dr. Jane Lilly López will not receive the stimulus funds due to her, despite the fact that she is a U.S. citizen who paid thousands in taxes in 2019. Read her op-ed to learn more about the American families who are being excluded from the “CARES” relief bill. “Congress Does Not ‘Care’ About My American Family” • April 24, 2020 • The Appeal
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Are You Aware? Front Lines
This is part IV in our “battlefronts” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. My favorite toy as a 4-year-old was a little black doctor’s bag. It included an orange reflex hammer and a yellow-and-blue shot and stethoscope. I took a first-aid course my freshman year in high school and was chosen as one of six first responders for the junior high. Our advisor would call us out of class, then we’d triage the situation and get started on taking care of our patient. We’d fill our advisor in once he was able to get his class situated and come join us. We also served as the…
