“Look but don’t touch. Touch but don’t taste. Taste but don’t swallow.” This is a quote from the movie “The Devil’s Advocate.” The movie revolves around a lawyer from Jacksonville Florida, Keanu Reeves, being tempted by and essentially selling his soul to the devil, Al Pacino. The movie has all kinds of moral implications related to trust, greed, power, arrogance, lust and the battle between good and evil. But it all begins and ends with succumbing to temptation a little at a time without recognizing what you are doing.
Outside of Hollywood, it is still easy to rationalize doing something you know you are not supposed to do by doing it just a little at a time. “What ever you do, don’t eat the apple.” “Well, what if I just look at it but don’t touch it?” The next thing you know, you are sitting there with apple juice running down your chin, the victim of temptation and your own desires. Then you have to face the music and pay for your decisions. The payment is usually on demand and in full, not a little at a time.
About now you may be thinking something like, “Here I sit on safer-at-home isolation and this guy is talking about temptation and consequences; doesn’t he know about the new corona virus?” Well, I was just coming to that part. We have all dealt with social isolation since March 15th. They are projecting we will reach the peak in the number of people who have the virus somewhere between April 21st and early May. So we have 2-4 more weeks before we reach the summit of that bell curve we have all worked so hard to flatten. That doesn’t sound so bad but, remember, once we reach the summit we have to come back down the other side. We have a long way to go before this is over. There will come a day when we will all be back fishing or having a party together at the Michigan building but a lot of water will flow past the pier before that.
It is very tempting to say, “What if I just get together with a few friends? What is wrong with a little poker game? What If I just talk to one person from off campus? What will it hurt to have a visit with my family from out of state, who knows when I will see them again? I just want to eat with my friends one time. What is wrong with that?”
Remember the last paragraph from last month’s article: “The primary things you can do is WASH YOUR HANDS frequently for at least 20 seconds, clean surfaces touched by others, cover your cough or sneeze with a cloth or tissue or your elbow. Keep your six foot distance from others with no group get togethers. Don’t forget why we are doing all of this. You are the person who can do the most to make sure you and those around you stay healthy. Don’t get bored and lose focus.”
As is true for all things, this too shall pass. We have been very fortunate so far and have not faced any cases of the virus and the consequences that come with it at Moosehaven. We have been blessed. But we still have to be mindful of what helped us get here. Thank you for everything you are doing and hang in there. We will make it as easy as we can to stay safer at home.
Bill Tippins