When news broke about the Coronavirus in December of 2019, no one could have imagined the effect it would have on the globe.  Later, when it reached the United States in March of 2020, it felt like an out-of-the-question idea that we would still be in quarantine one year later.  I have been working as a secretary at a funeral home for the last three years, going to school full time while also working full time. Over the past year, I had an indescribable experience, having what I thought was a normal desk job to becoming an essential worker, deputized to make removals from hospitals. 

Before the virus reached the United States, I distinctly remember hearing about its effects on Italy and the video warnings from residents who pleaded with us to take their advice. Many people, including myself, doubted the effects that it would have because it seemed like the flu. My anatomy lab class in early March became the last time I was on campus as it quickly became apparent that this was not the flu and far more deadly than we had prepared for. From March to May, I was still enrolled as a full-time student while working every day for as many as 12 hours to take phone calls and do the necessary paperwork.

 In the beginning of the pandemic, I could see that the amount of work was going to steadily increase, so I made an agreement with my bosses that I would stay at work as long as needed as long as I could complete some of my schoolwork during the work day. There even were instances where we were so busy I was answering the phone at work while taking an exam for class online. The phones rang nonstop, and on the other end was often a sad story about how they had not seen their loved ones for months due to the virus. Hospitals and Nursing Homes were not allowing visitors because of the risk of exposure, keeping elderly patients from seeing their families and pregnant women completely alone in the hospital. At the same time my parents were working in the hospitals as nurses, seeing their coworkers become sick and pass away. Self monitoring for symptoms and sanitizing the house was all we could do to help lessen the chances. My father began sharing his last wishes, discussing what’s to be done with him if the worst was to happen. He has begun seeing his own coworkers become sick and in some cases, even passing away.
There was nothing in life that could have prepared me for such a traumatic event, it seems only in retrospect can I see the toll it took. Experienced professionals who have worked in the funeral industry for over 25 years have said that this virus was worse on the essential workers and the city as a whole than on September 11, 2001. While 9/11 was a horrific event, it was a one-time event, but the Coronavirus was claiming the lives of thousands of people a day. I began seeing coworkers cry at work from the stress and the complaints of insomnia we all seemed to share. While it was not always easy, we had an important job to do. There were glimmers of hope in the chaos that helped to make the times more bearable. There were many instances of food being delivered to us with thank you notes for our hard work. There were also many thankful people, who had previously been turned down by other funeral homes due to a lack of space.

I personally have suffered from anxiety and depression for most of my life, but after a month or so of working in the worst, I began having panic attacks. The death toll from the virus and distress from the families that I was experiencing on a daily basis led to me developing a panic disorder. Instead of allowing the negatives to overcome my life I began making changes to my life. More self care practices and methods for correcting my sleep schedule became fixtures in my routine, as it was important for improvement.

Litt describes literature, writing and technology’s relationship as being ongoing and changing as technology is continuing to advance. Writing and literature themselves are technology, a vehicle for expressing emotions, stories, and opinions. The author also believes that technology is affecting the ways that literature is consumed as well as the way that technology influences the style of  writing. Technology and social media is creating a culture of instantaneous information and constant connectedness making the information more brief and less rememberable.
Litt discusses how we no longer have the distance and lack of connectivity to act as plot lines for stories because we are all so constantly connected. Technology affects the way that we are able to perceive more classical literature because the time period feels so far away from the current time and out of touch. Imagining a time without modern day electricity and plumbing seems like an impossible feat when we are able to take classes without ever meeting. In the digital age stories are driven by the possibility of that connectedness ending or the technology taking over. Stories are also driven by the current events that are constantly being updated.  I believe that technology has already begun changing the way that stories are being written and distributed. Many people do not purchase newspapers daily, but they do receive news through media like social media or the television news. Physical copies of newspapers and magazines have become obsolete because they offer online subscriptions. I also believe that writing and literature will become less in a book format and more of an audio or visual formatting.  Many people do not have the attention span to read a book because they are being constantly stimulated from other, more compelling media. Instead of reading a book about a part of history that you are interested in, you can now find a podcast to listen to about that specific time period. The content on the internet has gotten so vast that literature is not the only form of literature that people are focused on.
In my opinion reading on the computer screen is harder and has a negative affect on my ability to comprehend. I find it easier to get distracted and I often find myself skimming the contents when it is on a screen. If I do not understand or remember I  have to reread the contents to understand.  I often print out the articles and assignments because I find it easier to reference, annotate, and comprehend. Reading on my phone is different because it is something that I do often.

Whitehead’s disposition is more nostalgic about New York City, remembering a time before.  A time before his favorite pizzeria was closed and a time before September 11th. “ But look past the windows of the travel agency that replaced your pizza parlor.” The author uses a more general tone, sharing the experiences of many. Whitehead also says that each individual experience of New York City is unique, giving a lifelike quality to it. “ And they never got a chance to say goodbye to me. I think they would have liked to; I refuse to believe in their indifference.” The author gives the city an opinion on the circumstances related to September 11th. John Lewis writes more specifically about his own experiences, of being a teenager when fourteen year old Emmett Till was murdered and hearing Dr. Martin Luther, Jr. preach non violence philosophies. “Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor. He was 14 when he was killed, and I was only 15 years old at the time.”   In  Lewis’ text his disposition is more demanding and reverent. It is meant to act as a reminder that we have a moral obligation to speak out against injustices and do our part to enact change.
In the two articles, both Whitehead and Lewis are having reflective conversations about their communities in crisis. They are two different types of crisis yet they both call for people to come together and remember the times before and how history will be written. Both of the authors are sharing their personal experiences through their own perspectives. What I took away from these two articles was the importance of a sense of home and community. Another idea that I believe is present in both articles is both a meaningful and emotional crisis that both of the authors experienced.
I personally identified with the “Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation” more because of the opinion of getting into “good trouble”. I believe like Dr. Martin Luther King that we have a moral obligation to stand against injustices in our communities and use our abilities to make change. We must vote, in order to change the outcome of who is elected and what laws are made. I believe we all should care for and defend one another in our democracy.

I agree with Baldwin in that when you begin forming opinions on what you believe is morally correct you begin to become aware of the injustices that are all around. In elementary school, attending private catholic school it was easy to see who the poorer children were but when going to public high school I became fully aware of how different other peoples living situations could be. This helped broaden my perspective on life. I believe that in order to understand the world better you must be aware of the world around you.

While Baldwin writes specifically about the experience of Black Americans I do not believe that the experiences of other marginalized groups are much different. Baldwin writes about how at a young age children of other marginalized groups notice that there is a difference in the way that they live. When the neighborhood that these children are from are impoverished they become exposed to more like prostitution or drug dealing. While they do not understand what is going on exactly and they aren’t sure why they are aware that something is occurring. Impoverished and marginalized groups live above the law but they also feel uncomfortable calling the police, even today for fear for their lives.

In the text there are many examples of Baldwin’s use of different rhetorical situations. The first example is when Baldwin uses Pathos, or an appeal to the emotions to express his rhetorical situation. He explains how well meaning individuals can actually come off as patronizing and lead to more silence on the part of all African Americans. They are not allowed to truly express who they are, for fear of not fitting into the  “It means that well-meaning white liberals place themselves in great danger when they try to deal with Negroes as though they were missionaries. It means, in brief, that a great price is demanded to liberate all those silent people so that they can breathe for the first time and tell you what they think of you. And a price is demanded to liberate all those white children – some of them near forty – who have never grown up, and who never will grow up, because they have no sense of their identity.”(Pg 4 Paragraph 1)
In the second example from “A Talk To Teachers”, Baldwin again uses pathos and logos to express how despite not knowing exactly why there is a weight on the people around the child’s shoulders. There is a different atmosphere at school, which makes it more obvious to the child who is struggling that others have a very different home life.  “But a black child, looking at the world around him, though he cannot know quite what to make of it, is aware that there is a reason why his mother works so hard, why his father is always on edge. He is aware that there is some reason why, if he sits down in the front of the bus, his father or mother slaps him and drags him to the back of the bus. He is aware that there is some terrible weight on his parents’ shoulders which menaces him. And it isn’t long – in fact it begins when he is in school – before he discovers the shape of his oppression.” (Page 2, Paragraph 1)

I agree with Baldwin that teachers have a powerful impact on their students. They have the ability to shape kinds into eager learners and inspire them to enjoy school. They also have the ability to leave a lasting negative impact on the children they teach. There have been many teachers in my schooling that have left a positive impact on me, they helped me want to learn and grow. I believe that it is incredibly important to have a positive impact on students as an educator.