The Village Voice • July 2020
Founded in 1991
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Vol. XXIX, No. 7 | July 2020
EDITORIAL The Nap That Kills By Dave Esler I learned an iron rule of survival early, not from experience, but from a childhood immersion in adventure stories. If you’re lost in a snowstorm, keep going, no matter what. No matter how exhausted you become, or how hopeless the situation, you have to fight on. You mustn’t yield to the temptation to lie down and rest; as much as you’d love a little nap, understand that it could be your last. Let yourself fall asleep, and it’s over. I suspect that many of us learned that same lesson, vicariously at least, even if we grew up far from life-threatening blizzards. The best way to cope with an existential challenge is not to give in, but to fight through it. Just keep going. Don’t let your guard down. In the face of disaster, if you snooze, you lose. The coronavirus crisis has been that kind of test, the deadliest threat of our era, a relentless blizzard like none we’ve ever experienced. Everything about it has been unprecedented, from the death toll to the sacrifices we’ve all been asked to make. Sheltering COVID-19, Cont’d. on Page 3
America, The Beautiful With all the 4th of July fireworks gone and the backyard barbeques extinguished, hot dogs and beer become a distant memory! It may be worthwhile to remember why we celebrate this holiday in the first place. It was our declaration of independence from England. But have you wondered why America became a melting-pot, an attractive destination for millions of people from around the world? It wasn’t for fireworks, nor the hot dogs. They came because of one document that was ratified on March 4, 1789: the United States Constitution.
Immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries poured into America from such faraway places as Italy, Germany, Ireland and Eastern Europe seeking new opportunities. Other immigrants from China, Japan, the Philippines and South America entered by boats, cargo ships, under and over walls. The Constitution was established so that we and successive generations may enjoy the freedoms, security and tranquility the document promised. Here are some quotations from our Founding Fathers: AMERICA, Cont’d. on Page 6
The Village Voice is a publication of the Ocean Hills Country Club Journalism Club