Hank Sanders: Sketches #1711 - Things are real bad now, so we have to be at our very best

  Times are real bad now. Therefore, I feel compelled to share my Mama’s advice. Ola Mae and Sam Sanders were not just poor, but “Po.” They lived in harsh poverty and under oppressive racial segregation. They carried the weight of a very large family, eventually growing to 13 children. But their spirits were strong. Daddy and Mama were both powerful in presence and in their work. But Mama put words to key moments and difficult situations. Things are real bad now, so I am calling on my Mama.

  When things got real bad, Mama would make every one of us children come to the front room of our three-room house. I don’t mean a three-bedroom house; I mean three rooms – a kitchen, a middle room, and a front room. Mama sat in the only chair we owned. She made all of us children sit down on the floor in front of her. Then she said the following: “Children, things are always kinda bad with this big ‘Po’ family and all, but they are real bad now.” Then Mama would go quiet for a moment causing us children to focus more intensely on her next words. Then she followed up with these words: “But don’t y’all worry. I am at my best when things get real bad.” And Mama was truly at her best when things got real bad. Things are real bad now, so we have to be at our very best.

  These moments were so powerful that I am crying as I write this Sketches some 60 to 70 years later. I often cry as I share this powerful moment during speeches. It was more than a powerful feeling; it was a powerful lesson in leadership. Things are real bad now, so we have to be at our very best.

  Things are real bad now because powerful configurations of forces are bearing down upon us. We have a new disease, coronavirus, whose dimensions we cannot determine. The disease is moving so fast. There are no known cures. There are no medicines to treat it. There are no vaccines. The only known way to prevent coronavirus from spreading is to isolate us from each other. Businesses must shut down. Events must cease. Schools must close. This will result in massive economic disruptions. Our health system is not set up for such a pandemic. Our national leadership is unprepared and incapable. These are, indeed, powerful forces bearing down upon us. Things are real bad now, so we must be at our very best.

  It was just months ago when the coronavirus first appeared in a faraway country 12 thousand miles away on the other side of the world. Now it has leaped across multiple huge continents and several deep oceans to infest us in the United States of America and around the world. It is raging in more than 177 countries. It is spreading like wildfire. It is a fast-moving pandemic. It is a powerful force. Things are real bad now, so we must be at our very best.

  We don’t know how to cure this disease. We don’t know how to prevent this disease. We don’t know of a vaccine for this disease. We don’t know the long-term effects of this disease. We do know that death is one of its short-term effects. We don’t even know who we can be near, so we try not to be near anyone, even our loved ones. Being cut off from others is a powerful force. Not knowing is a powerful force. Things are real bad now, so we must be at our very best.

  Then there is this impending sweeping economic force. It is vast and deep. Millions of businesses are closing or will be closed. Tens of millions of citizens will be unemployed or otherwise unable to work. Most of us live paycheck to paycheck, and there will be no paychecks. Most people will not have money to live on. Some will not be able to secure food to eat. Some will not have a roof over their heads. Economic devastation is a powerful force. Things are real bad now, so we have to be at our very best.

  This is a capitalist society. The whole economy is based on privately-owned businesses. It is not just that the stock market is crashing, but why it is crashing. It is crashing because businesses are being directed to close by our governments. If businesses close as a way to stop this fast-moving pandemic from spreading, when can they open again? Will they be able to open again? Will some of these huge online-based companies snatch up most of the customers during the crisis? Most businesses are laying off employees going and coming. However, Amazon and Walmart and a few other businesses are hiring new workers going and coming. What will be the new economic order? The closing of businesses is a very powerful force. Things are real bad now, so we have to be at our very best.

  Then there is our health care system. The United States of America is the only industrialized country where health care is not a right, accompanied by a widespread public health system. It is mostly part of the private economic system rather than the governmental system. Huge numbers of persons are projected to be infected. It may be in the millions. People with coronavirus will overwhelm the health care system. Many will not receive care because there is no space for them. Others will not receive health care because there is no health care insurance for them. The failure of the health care system is a very powerful force. Things are real bad now, so we have to be at our very best.

  Leadership is a powerful force. A lack of leadership in a crisis becomes a powerful force. We have a leadership failure at the highest level. When the coronavirus was clearly on the horizon, our leadership denied its existence. Therefore, we did not prepare. Even when the coronavirus reached this country, the leadership at the top dismissed its force, saying that the 15 known cases would be down to two cases in a few days. However, the 15 cases have grown tens of thousands and are still growing. As of this writing, there are nearly 70,000 in our country. Then our leadership said coronavirus was a partisan hoax intended to make them look bad. It was just one thing after another. Failure to lead is a powerful force. Things are real bad now, so we must be at our very best.

  Our more negative human qualities are always lurking in the background. Greed, hate, racism, sexism, classism, and others are always lurking. Real bad times sometimes unleash these lurking bad human characteristics. When some get a cold, those on the bottom get pneumonia. Already these lurking dangers are manifesting themselves. Bad human nature is a powerful force. Things are real bad now, so we must be at our very best.

  All of these and other forces are coming together in powerful configurations that even the wisest are unable to perceive their full dimensions. Nor can the strongest withstand these forces. My mother would have immediately realized and acknowledged things were real bad and would get worse. My mother would have called us to be at our best. She would have marshaled her limited resources and met these “real bad” things head-on. My mother is not with us, so we have to do what needs to be done. We must meet these configurations of powerful forces. Things are real bad now. The only question is will we be at our very best.

EPILOGUE – Sometimes things come together in ways that multiply their power. Each thing is powerful in its individual right, but when they come together, their power is not just added together but multiplied. The power in the forces involved in the coronavirus pandemic is multiplying.

  About the author: Hank Sanders represented District 23 in the Alabama Senate from 1983 to 2018.