Let’s have this bring out the best in us

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By Joe Parisi
Dane County Executive

The world has been moving pretty fast lately; events are unfolding rapidly, and that can be unsettling.

At times like this, it’s important to be mindful that the coronavirus experience will have a beginning, middle and an end. Right now, we are in the beginning. As time passes, cases will increase, they will peak, they will decline, and then level off.

I’m hopeful that aggressive actions being taken by government, healthcare providers, private sector and community based organizations will impact the trajectory of the virus.  That doesn’t mean it won’t affect us—it will.  But while we may not be able to control every aspect of this experience, we can control how we respond.

Difficult times provide us opportunities to rise to the occasion—to bring out the best in us.

I’ve lived in Dane County my entire life; I believe in the people of our community, and I know we will continue to move forward in a manner we can all be proud of.

Whenever I’m in the midst of a challenging situation, I like to step back and envision how I want to be able to look back at this time a year from now—at how I responded.  We’re likely in for a few difficult months, but we’re not helpless.  Through smart action and community-wide compassion, we will look out for one another.

One day this experience will be behind us, but right now it’s new to all of us. It’s a little bit scary, and it will take some time to play out.  But together, we will get through it, and we will tackle it as a community.

Because as long as we’re looking out for one another, we will all have someone looking out for us.