ARI HERZOG

My Personal Blog

Thoughts and Hands

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“I perceive what I think, and therefore I am,” said Jewel, riffing the famous Descartes phrase, during a New York Times-hosted Zoom interview.

She spoke for an hour from her Utah home as candles shone in the background. She led the audience in a meditation exercise, answered questions, and played guitar to perform her new song, “Grateful.”

I took this candid screenshot.

I attended one of her concerts over a decade ago. But while I know Jewel best as a singer and songwriter, she’s also an actress, author, poet, mother, philanthropist, and activist.

Jewel discussed Never Broken, her nonprofit foundation devoted today to help people suffering with coronavirus-related depression and anxiety. The website offers free online resources for people to cope and get centered.

The pandemic comprises three aspects, Jewel said:

  • The virus
  • The economic fallout
  • The mental health fallout

On the latter point, she alluded to the importance of mindfulness to identify our mental strengths. Jewel was concerned that if society doesn’t significantly improve then the suicide rate could increase.

And that leads us back to the above quote. It’s important to not only think but to recognize your thought patterns.

“If you want to see what you are thinking, look at your hands.”

In that way, she said, your hands represent the action of your thoughts.

Stop Kissing

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St. Catharine’s College and the University of Cambridge joined forces last month and created a list of 297 ideas to flatten the curve.

It’s a massive undertaking and many of the ideas make a lot of sense — such as removing park benches and door handles. Other ideas might be viewed as controversial — such as encouraging employees to bring in their own lunch and eat at their desks instead of going out. But when you stop and think about it, there really isn’t controversy if everyone has a shared goal.

One of the ideas is to discourage kissing.

Reducing physical distance to ward off the coronavirus is not a novel concept. In recent weeks, France urged its citizens to stop kissing and both Ireland and South Africa banned kissing.

Europe is familiar with kissing bans. In 1439, King Henry VI of England banned kissing to fight the Black Death. And in 1562 while fighting another wave of that epidemic, the Italian city of Naples banned it.

Closer to home, kissing was banned in Alabama during the 1918 flu pandemic. That virus was responsible for 500 million global infections and about 20 million deaths.

Source: Knoxville Sentinel, October 8, 1918

Throughout the United States in 1918-1919, schools and churches were closed. Retail stores had staggered operating times. Most businesses were shut down. Mail delivery and garbage collection were delayed. Funerals were banned. Social distancing was enforced. People were fined if they walked outside without masks.

Sound familiar?

Victims to Our Way of Life

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Imagine… if the world, the hemisphere, the continent, the country, the state, the city, the neighborhood, and everyone living on your street stayed at home and never left for two weeks.

With no humans out and about, the virus would fall to the ground and die.

But that’s not our world and that’s definitely not our street. Even with the most stringent stay-at-home orders in places like South Korea, Italy, and Spain, government leaders allow essential workers to move around and public health officials encourage us to get outdoor exercise.

And that’s why the virus is not dying.

We are victims to our way of life.

What choice do we have?

We need every essential worker to keep the economy running.

Doctors, nurses, farmers, homeless shelter caseworkers, freight shippers, auto mechanics, lawyers, mail carriers, pharmacists, garbage collectors, gas station attendants, veterinarians, teachers, funeral home directors.

Everyone plays a part and society as we know it today would collapse if they didn’t do what they need to do.

Non-essential workers also play a part: to stay at home as much as possible so when cities and towns and states and countries — and the world — open back up, the virus won’t bounce around and find new victims.

Some people believe they know more about flattening the curve than medical doctors, virologists, and biostatisticians. They attend protests and rallies, standing shoulder-to-shoulder without face coverings. They believe that the 1st Amendment to the Constitution allows them to assemble whenever and wherever they want.

But, what good is assembling when the virus is still there and suddenly has everywhere to go? Will it take a family member to get infected and die before that person realizes the error of their ways? I hope not.

Getting Through the Fight

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It is fascinating to read how different segments of American society are adjusting and changing their operations because of the coronavirus crisis.

Businesses want to reopen with health guidelines, schools and colleges recognize that the short-term will look different, and government agencies seek to update their archaic policies.

The Ragon Institute, a research facility in Cambridge, MA, wants to bring employees back to the workplace with staggered shifts, social distancing, weekly employee testing, and daily employee temperature readings. Employees would be given daily masks, gloves, and sanitizer. Anyone symptomatic or feverish would be barred from entering the building.

Staggered classes and longer days are among the plans at K-12 school districts, to include continued distance learning and online education.

“The new norm is that public education is probably not going to be what it’s always been for the near future. But it would be a shame to take this crisis and not improve on how we interact with students, how teachers are teaching and kids are demonstrating their learning.”

Source: Chris Funk, superintendent of the East Side Union School District in San Jose, CA

College presidents across the country intend to reopen campuses this fall but it’s unclear if students will be there. Based on a survey of 1,171 high school seniors, 1 in 6 will not attend. In another survey, 40% of parents said their kids may delay going to college.

The U.S. Supreme Court begins holding oral arguments via telephone today for a series of postponed cases. And for the first time in the Court’s history, the audio feed will be available to media organizations for rebroadcast to the world.

Chris Pugliese, the general manager of Tompkins Square Bagels in New York City, says it best:

“I tell my guys at the store that everything is related to the first Rocky movie. We don’t have to win. We just have to get through this fight. We’re going to get up, get bloodied. We just need to be standing when it’s over.”

Source: Bon Appetit

Why Keisha Lance Bottoms is Joe Biden’s Best VP Choice

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Everyone has an opinion on the best running mate for Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic candidate for President of the United States.

My choice is Keisha Lance Bottoms. Here’s why…

James Corden interviewed Biden on April 22 and asked him for the qualities he sought in a Vice President.

Biden, reflecting on what former President Barack Obama said about why he chose Biden to be VP, indicated that he wanted similar qualities in his pick.

1. Someone who the public can look at and say, “She is capable of being President of the United States” if he had to walk away.

2. Someone who has background, competence, or strengths in areas where he lacks; and who is confident in areas where he can delegate presidential authority.

3. Someone on his wavelength, who may disagree on tactics but agrees on strategies.

4. Someone he can completely trust.

Every newspaper columnist, media pundit, and everyday citizen has an opinion on the best Vice President.

The most popular names that I see recommended are U.S. Senators Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Tammy Baldwin, Tammy Duckworth, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Elizabeth Warren; U.S. Representatives Val Demings, Marcia Fudge, Karen Bass, Maxine Waters, and Ayanna Pressley; Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice; Governors Gretchen Whitmer and Michelle Grisham; former Georgia legislator Stacy Abrams; and Bottoms.

I have several thoughts:

First, would Biden as a former Senator want a current Senator as his running mate? Wouldn’t a Senator share background he already has?

Second, I’m an independent voter but I believe the Democrats need to maintain their majority in the House and gain a majority in the Senate. If both actions occur, then incumbents are needed to maintain that lead. If neither chamber gets a majority, then that’s more of an impetus for Democrats to stay put. The Congress needs to play its part to check and balance against the President, regardless of party.

Third, I’d rather see former presidential candidates Harris as Attorney General, Klobuchar as Secretary of Agriculture, and Warren as Senate President. Warren, especially, can be valuable here.

Fourth, I don’t think that a member of Congress, regardless of the chamber, is the best person to be Vice President. I believe that person is someone who is/was on the ground during the pandemic.

Fifth, neither Whitmer nor Grisham were elected as mayors or town managers. They are former legislators. And they should maintain their state’s party leadership.

Sixth, Abrams is similar to the Governors. She served in the Georgia House of Representatives for 10 years. But, she’s never been in the executive branch. And for reasons I explain above, I can’t include her.

Seventh, Rice could get the job done but given her background I think she’d be better as Secretary of State.

I think the nation is best served with a Vice President who is currently serving in a local government role. The pandemic changes the rules.

Local leaders demonstrate daily hands-on experience and context in working with public health officials, first responders, unions, local business owners, and other stakeholders. These individuals are crucial in the front lines and have the ability to unite groups of people across the country.

“There is a young lady right there in Georgia who I think would make a tremendous VP candidate, and that’s the mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms.”

U.S. Rep. James Clyburn

Clyburn is the U.S. House Majority Whip, and he stated that quote during a recent interview with the Financial Times. Of note, he was directly responsible for Biden winning South Carolina.

Bottoms and Biden share experiences from their early days, each having a law degree and serving on city councils.

Bottoms has the background, competence, and strengths that Biden lacks. I’m sure they’d agree on domestic and foreign strategies. Would the American people look at her and believe she can step in as President? I’m a former city councilor and I have faith she can do the job. But it comes down to whether Biden can trust her. Only he knows.

Elected in 2017, Bottoms is passionate about a government partnership with business leaders dating to the 1950s. From a $1 billion affordable housing goal to raising police and fire salaries to hosting Super Bowl LIII, she’s optimistic that the country can follow Atlanta’s lead.

“That’s the great thing about Atlanta and the state as a whole. We do things very differently. We have a very productive working relationship with our business partners that’s not at the expense of our communities. Even the bipartisan working relationship we have – if it could be replicated in Washington, I think our country would be in lot better shape.”

Source: Georgia Trend, December 2019

Bottoms endorsed Biden after the first Democratic debate in June 2019. She’s interviewed on national TV networks nearly every day. She’s a face with the pandemic experience that people can relate to in our new normal.

Naysayers point out that the country has never elected a sitting mayor to be Vice President. That’s true, but Andrew Johnson and Calvin Coolidge held mayoral roles before entering federal office.

And, let’s not forget that Mayor Pete Buttigieg won the Ohio caucus and tied in the New Hampshire primary in his run for President.

Why, again, shouldn’t Bottoms run for Vice President?

These are my thoughts. Time will tell what happens.

Biden’s VP selection committee will be announced by May 1. The members will conduct interviews and background checks by July — and then he will make the final decision. Who will it be?

16 Tips to Stay Healthy and Fight the Coronavirus

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You’re going to tell me you know all of this stuff. But people are still getting infected with COVID-19 so I’m going to share these tips anyway. The essence came from the WHO, CDC, American Red Cross, and WebMD; and I edited everything with my own perspectives.

See, I assume I am asymptomatic. It heightens my awareness and forces me to be vigilant. This belief doesn’t cause anxiety. Rather, I’m being safe by protecting myself and others. I hope these precautions will help you and yours too.

1. Wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds. Wash all over — the palm, the back, the grooves in between your fingers, and the tops of your fingernails.

2. Sanitize your hands with a mixture of 60% alcohol when you need to wash them but if you’re not near a sink. Carry sanitizer wherever you go. A tiny drop can work for the entire hand.

3. Prevent yourself from touching your mouth, nose, or eyes, unless your hands are washed or you’re in a clean space.

4. Cough or sneeze into your elbow. Or, into a tissue if you have it handy. Always wash or sanitize your hands (and elbow) after.

5. Stand a minimum of 6 feet away from people.

Dr. Paul Pottinger, an infectious disease specialist with the University of Washington, explains:

“The biggest threat – we think – with the coronavirus is actually the larger droplets. Droplets of saliva, snot, spit. Droplets that almost look like rain, if you will, when someone sneezes. Those droplets are large enough that gravity still acts on them. Usually, within about six feet of leaving somebody’s body, those larger, more infectious droplets will drop to the ground. That’s where the six-foot rule comes from.”

6. Wear a cloth face covering, such as a mask, for anyone over age 2. People with shortness of breath should not wear masks.

7. Be aware that anyone, including yourself, can be asymptomatic. This indicates being contagious without symptoms. In fact, assume you are.

8. Throw out or sanitize all food wrappers. If possible, transfer the contents into your own bags or bowls. Always sanitize anything going into the freezer because the cold has no effect on the virus. When in doubt, cook the food because temperatures over 160 F kill the virus.

9. Rinse produce when you’re ready to eat it with cold water or a brush.

10. Clean and disinfect commonly-used household surfaces, such as doorknobs, sinks, toilet handles, phone screens, keys, credit cards, TV remotes, and computer keyboards. Don’t forget about the door handle, steering wheel, gear shifter, and similar objects in your car.

11. Remove your shoes every time you come inside, and keep your shoes near that door.

12. Put a clothing hamper near the door for items such as cotton and polyester masks. I bought this hamper in red. It’s unlikely for the virus to stay on fabrics for more than a few hours, but you can be the judge if something needs to be washed.

13. Use disposable gloves (or tissues) when touching potentially dirty surfaces, such as ATM buttons. Or, touch everything with your hands but get ready to sanitize them (and everything else you touched).

14. Think ahead when you need to do actions in public. For instance, if you need to insert or swipe a credit card, then you should assume the device is dirty. Hold the card with a protected hand, then place the card in an unused pocket so you can sanitize it before putting the card back in your wallet or purse.

15. Stay home if you feel ill. We have our own experiences of what that means and what we do to cure ourselves. For instance, I routinely get allergies from springtime pollen and seasonal dust. Every morning, I take a herbal remedy and Vitamin D. And if I awake with a sore throat, I take an antihistamine and Tylenol.

16. Do not stay home if you have a fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Those symptoms – together, and definitely a fever by itself – warrants a call to your doctor. That could be a sign of something serious.