You don't need to choose a side

It's okay to be concerned about the ignoring of social distancing requirements and also the effect the extended quarantine is having on the economy. It's not either or and you don't need to choose a side.

I know dozens of people that have died, many more still sick, and I also know of many many people whose livelihoods are in the dumps. To say that you are only impacted by one or the other is most likely a result of your own biases.

If you can't accept the need to continue isolating, or you don't understand how people are suffering in ways other than just with the actual virus, it's time for you to step back and realize that there is a big world out there, made up of individuals just like you who at the same time are having different experiences.

You don't necessarily need to put yourself entirely in somone else's shoes, but recognizing that the world doesn't revolve around just you and your little circle is a start.

The word often used is empathy. But it's really more than that. Even if you can't bring yourself to feel someone else's pain, the least you can do is acknowledge that we are all in this together, even while being different and having different experiences.