Carol Anne Costa: God Help Us
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Hello God. Are you there? It’s me, Carol. I say with all due respect to Judy Blume,as she ushered in my 10th Birthday with her timeless provocative book that saw me and many a teenage girl through lots of scary stuff. Well, as I hope to channel Judy’s brilliance through her main character Margaret, I like Margaret have some questions and concerns about the world, its leaders and lack of direction which leave a sinking feeling in my stomach. So here goes; God, I have some pressing issues and some prayers I would like to share with you: Let me start with these ISIS people are really really scary murderers. And this ebola thing, yikes! The Enterovirus D68 that sure is a rapid and frightening killer. Not to mention, it’s flu season and that one is a killer too. But, what is worrying me most is that the people in charge seem perplexed and paralyzed as well. What can we do? Pray, I suppose.
Not one to be a doom and gloom type personality, my propensity for the upside is slightly wavering. It seems Ebola, germs in general and ISIS are revealing large gaps in our usually sturdy American armor. But, like the America I know, Congress will roll up their sleeves, right the ship and get ahead of these terrible times, right?
Pray Away the Lethargy
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTSo, God I have a special prayer it goes like this: “Dear God, please inspire Congress to rush back to Washington and begin full throated debates on how to degrade and destroy ISIS. Please help them listen to and evaluate the intelligence or lack there of, from our military leaders. Also God, give them the strength to bring the State Department into Congressional hearings to ferret out exactly what diplomatic measures are taking hold and what new members of the coalition are ready to go forth to eliminate the threat that is ISIS. And God, please help them be truthful with a war weary public who is growing more weary of beheadings and the constant threat of violence. Give them the will along with their collective experience, knowledge and power to move to action. Grant them the wisdom and foresight to work together and with the administration. Dearest God, show them a path to common ground.”
With so many people facing deadly diseases both at home and abroad, our sense of vulnerability has become heightened. The reality is, ebola has hit our shores, but the truth is Enterovirus D68 has also taken young lives and the flu will hit us again bringing a death toll upwards of 36,000. So I ask you, God, Why did you make such deadly bugs so invisible and sneaky with long incubation periods? This is very worrisome and frankly we are scrambling around to defend ourselves. But, in the scramble we are blaming, finger pointing and not keeping our eyes fully trained on the bugs. So I have another prayer; “God, please let doctors, microbiologists and scientists be leaders in the fight against disease. Let medicine’s wisdom and smarts permeate the public’s understanding of these microscopic killers. Please help people better perceive that fear and isolationism will not eradicate the Ebola virus, only evolving medicine and practices will. Raise awareness in the public that the flu is much more deadly here in the U.S. than Ebola. Help people to be patient with the healthcare system, as this is a new one for us. Please protect the health care workers here and in West Africa that they may constantly improve level of protection in dealing with Ebola, in turn helping all of us do a better job in fending off germs. Give strength to those fighting any sickness passed from human contact. Provide growing knowledge to battle these pathogens. Permit the political industrial complex to avoid making the battle against disease a mere talking point. Give us the power to understand and give the World Health Organization and the CDC the tools they need to push back these outbreaks.”
One More Thing
God, there is one more thing on my mind, I am not sure a prayer alone will help so I will just put it on your radar. I can’t help but remember that when bad things like these happen people often turn to the government for help; aids, Katrina, Sandy are demonstrative of the need for a robust government ready to respond with talent and compassion. In the past the responses were generally void of politicizing matters which directly impact citizens. That has changed a great deal of late. The CDC’s budget was slashed with cuts, sequestration and a government shutdown, but as we see now those cuts have implications. Additionally we do not have a Surgeon General, that may have helped to channel resources and develop a better answer for our pending troubles. So if you can keep your eyes on this, I would be grateful . I’m asking for some guidance in these scary matters. Any help, confidence, wisdom, patience and luck is greatly appreciated. Thanks for listening God, I’ll be waiting. Sincerely, Carol
Carol Costa is a public relations and community outreach specialist; she has experience in both the public and private sectors. She is the Chairwoman of the Scituate Democratic Town Committee and has extensive community affairs and public relations experience. She previously served in the Rhode Island Judiciary for nearly 17 years. Carol also enjoyed a successful development stint at the Diocese of Providence as Associate Director for Catholic Education and is currently a public housing manager. Her work has been published in several local outlets including GoLocal, Valley Breeze, The Rhode Island Catholic, and Currents Magazine.
Related Slideshow: Timeline of Ebola in the US
Since August, GoLocalProv has been covering the Ebola virus and its outbreak. We have created a timeline to track the development of the virus' intercontinental spread.
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