Today my youngest son and I ran an errand for my brother in Iowa: We went to IKEA. (I brought him along for his muscles. Don't worry. I rewarded him with a coffee stop on the way home.) I hadn't been to IKEA since pre-COVID, so I didn't know what to expect. I did know, however, that the desk my niece wanted kept selling out, so when I saw there were still 12 in stock, we went for it. When we arrived, we saw a shockingly long line full of (mostly) masked shoppers waiting for entry. The line moved quickly, though, as IKEA monitored those in and out of the store. Inside the store, we knew right where to go, and the check-out line was quick. The hardest part was steering the unwieldy cart of boxes. Inside the store, masks were required, but some waiting in line didn't have them on. I noticed one group of middle-aged white women who chose not to wear masks as they waited in line. They stood and chatted as if it was a normal shopping trip to IKEA, as if we weren't currently in a global pandemic. One woman was wearing a shirt that stated "Faith Over Fear." It made me pause. Was she sending a sign? (I thought the same thing yesterday when the student who had to be asked to cover his nose was wearing an American flag bandanna. Am I paranoid and reading too much into everything now? Maybe.) Maybe it was just the shirt she chose to wear today. Or maybe she thinks choosing to stand in line without a mask is an act of faith. For me, choosing to stand in line with a mask in line is an act of faith, an act of love for my neighbor. I'm back in the classroom now, so I have no idea if I've been exposed to the virus. I can have faith and a healthy fear of a deadly virus. Both/and, not either/or.
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September 2020
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