Caring about others

When our society began to shut down, individuals had no option but to stay at home. And we waited. We waited for COVID-19 cases to drop so that we could go back to work and resume our normal activities. Once businesses started to reopen, we thought it was OK to leave our homes and go back to normal. But it wasnt.

Its unrealistic for any economy to remain closed for long. But what has been sorely missing from this shutting down and reopening is clearly communicating why its critical to do certain things now that we are travelling outside our homes again.

Many officials are sending the message that the main concern is hospital capacities and available ICU beds. But for most people, its difficult to imagine ending up in a hospital from contracting COVID-19. When people are told to wear masks, they think its OK not to wear one because they are responsible for their own health and willing to risk the chances of infection and possible hospitalization.

Wearing a mask in public spaces (with the exception of an N95 mask) doesnt signal you are concerned for your health. It shows you care about the people around you. Wearing a mask protects others our family, our friends, our neighbors, our colleagues, our pastors, our doctors, our teachers, our students, our business owners and employees, our society.

Individual behaviors affect public health but placing blame on specific groups or shaming people for not wearing masks is not the answer either. We should better communicate why our actions matter and find ways to make it easier for people to care for one another.

EDITORS NOTE: Ms. Lee is an instructor in anthropology at Texas Tech University at Waco and teaches courses that examine culture and human behavior influencing health.

Contrasts in faith

The side-by-side placement of columns by Dr. Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church of Dallas and author and religion columnist Bill Tinsley in the June 27 Trib was either a great editorial decision or an example of how it is often better to be lucky than to be good.

The views expressed by Dr. Jeffress epitomize the hypocrisy that is driving so many, especially the young, away from organized religion. God save the Church from leaders like Dr. Jeffress.

Thank God for religious leaders such as Bill Tinsley who regularly remind us that God loves all of us and that our focus should be on our relationships with God and those around us. That message, and the actions it encourages all of us to take in how we live our lives, is not grounded in partisan politics.

I am going to credit you with a great editorial decision on the placement of the two columns. The messages emphasized in each column were in stark contrast to each other. Side-by-side placement of the two columns further emphasized that contrast.

Three cheers!

Three cheers for the girls and their families and neighbors who supported the Lemonade for Love stand. Reading about their project and seeing the picture of the air hug they gave and received from Peaches Henry warmed my heart. What a great project! Their spirit of love and giving to their community is touching the most positive story Ive read in the Waco Trib for some time.

Discrimination against whites?

Could you, the editor, explain why in the last week you have been using Black, instead of black, to describe the skin color of people in the news? I first noticed that Bubba Wallace was the only Black NASCAR driver. Today, the AP reported speaking to more than two dozen police officers from around the country, Black, white, Hispanic and Asian. Why Black and not black? It looks to me like, if not racism on your part, at least discrimination against whites.

EDITORS NOTE: Sharp eyes. The Associated Press changed its writing style guide to capitalize the b in the term Black when referring to people in a racial, ethnic or cultural context. The change conveys an essential and shared sense of history, identity and community among people who identify as Black, including those in the African diaspora and within Africa, said John Daniszewski, APs vice president of standards. The lowercase black is a color, not a person. The AP expects to make a decision soon on whether to capitalize the term white. Given the paucity of staffing at many newspapers, this has resulted in a mix of styles. The Trib opinion page, for instance, will either capitalize both black and white or neither.

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LETTERS: Thoughts on shared sacrifice, contrasts in faith, community spirit and racial inequity - Waco Tribune-Herald