From the Desk of Greg Whitus:

One of the sayings that I’ve thought about lately is “your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness.” When it comes to our struggles fighting the COVID crisis in the USA, this is especially true. Our greatest strength as Americans is our individualism…and now, it’s become our greatest weakness.

Individualism is celebrated in America. We celebrate the star rather than the team. We celebrate the individual entrepreneur rather than the team that helped him/her succeed. Churches teach an individualized faith. It’s your personal relationship with Christ. Our culture is built around the individual. 

We have become a country of individualists screaming about our individual rights and freedoms. Rarely do we think about the responsibility that comes with these rights. 

Yes, we have the right not to wear a mask. But, is that the responsible action to take? Yes, we have the right to not social distance. But, is that caring for your fellow American? 

Up until this point in our history, our country has always been able to push our individualism aside and come together for the greater good. We did it during WWII. We did it after 9/11.

Now, we face a plague in which over 155,000 fellow Americans have died. We face a plague that is wrecking our economy and traumatizing a generation of children. 

We could come together and defeat it. We’ve seen what other countries around the world have done. We know what we need to do. We just need to stop our arrogant selfishness. We need to accept the responsibility that comes alongside our freedoms. We need to think of others.

And finally, and most importantly, we need to suck it up and wear a damn mask.
Blessings,
Greg Whitus US Director International Christian Communities of Eurasia