PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE:  This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

There is a word in government that always has been confusing to me – “essential.”

It has been used a lot lately in the government response to the coronavirus pandemic.  Only “essential services” will be allowed to remain open.  But the definition of “essential” is open to wide interpretation around the country as almost every state has imposed “stay at home” orders, under whatever name.

In such situations, I guess I understand what essential means because, in fact, to try to control the virus, it cannot simply be business as usual.

Before the coronavirus, in my role as a lobbyist, I often encountered the word “essential.”  It was in relation to the need to cut back government services in response to previous recessions in Oregon, which is a state that survives on personal and corporate income tax revenue, buttressed on occasion by lottery dollars.  In the previous cutbacks, it was said that only “essential services” would remain in place.  But I said to myself and sometimes in testimony before legislative committees, if a state service was not essential, why was it being offered in the first place.

My plaintive cry often fell on deaf ears.

But now, back to the current use of essential in the coronavirus pandemic.

Under the headline, “What’s essential? In France: pastry, wine. In US: golf, guns,” the Associated Press produced an interesting article that I read this morning.  Here are excerpts:

“The coronavirus pandemic is defining for the globe what’s ‘essential’ and what things we really can’t do without, even though we might not need them for survival.

“Attempting to slow the spread of the virus, authorities in many places are determining what shops and services can remain open.  They’re also restricting citizens from leaving their homes.  Stay-at-home orders or guidance are affecting more than one-fifth of the world’s population.

“This has left many contemplating an existential question: What, really, is essential?

“Whether it is in Asia, Europe, Africa or the United States, there’s general agreement:  Health care workers, law enforcement, utility workers, food production and communications are generally exempt from lockdowns.

“But some lists of exempted activities reflect a national identity, or the efforts of lobbyists.

“In some U.S. states, golf, guns and ganja have been ruled essential, raising eyebrows and — in the case of guns — a good deal of ire.

“In many places, booze is also on the list of essentials.  Britain at first kept liquor stores off its list of businesses allowed to remain open, but after reports of supermarkets running out of beer, wine and spirits, the government quickly added them.

“Countries including India and U.S. states are listing the information technology sector as essential.  The world’s dependency on the internet has become even more apparent as countless people confined to their homes communicate, stream movies and play games online to stave off cabin fever.

“Several states where marijuana is legal, such as California and Washington, deemed pot shops and workers in the market’s supply chain essential.  For some, the emphasis is on medicinal uses, not enabling cooped-up people to get stoned.

“Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont added gun shops to his list of essential businesses, generating shock and dismay among families of gun violence victims.

“In Europe, the current epicenter of the pandemic, Italy has the most stringent rules, with only essential businesses such as food shops and pharmacies remaining open.  The manufacturing sector was ordered shut down on Thursday, though factories that make needed products like medical supplies will continue to operate after making conditions safer for employees.

“Britain, which was initially reluctant to shut down business, has issued orders to close non-essential operations.  Restaurants and eateries must be shut, but Britons can still get fish and chips and other meals, as long as they’re carry-out.

“In France, shops specializing in pastry, wine and cheese have been declared essential businesses.

“In a nod to Israel’s vibrant religious life, people can gather for outdoor prayers — with a maximum of 10 worshipers standing 2 meters (2 yards) apart. Demonstrations — also allowed — have occurred outside parliament and the Supreme Court, with participants maintaining social distance.

“In times of uncertainty, institutions and practices that are central to the cultural identities can become really important touchstones — material markers of certainty, comfort, and mechanisms to persist,” said Aimee Huff, marketing professor at Oregon State University, specializing in consumer culture.

“In the United States, lobbyists have been trying to influence what gets on lists of essential services, so their clients’ businesses can remain open, including lobbyists for manufacturers and the golf course industry.

“Despite their efforts, golf wasn’t deemed essential in Connecticut. But Arizona Governor Doug Ducey included golf courses on his list.  Officials in Phoenix encouraged the city’s 1.7 million residents to ‘get outside, get exercise and practice responsible social distancing’ in golf courses, parks and trails.”

In Oregon, it has not been necessary to lobby for golf courses to have the option to remain open.

The course where I play in Salem, Oregon, Illahe Hills Golf and Country Club has done a good job of imposing restrictions while staying open – restrictions such one rider per golf cart, no flags touched in golf holes, no rakes in bunkers, maintaining the six-foot social distance standard, and this additional, very smart step – placing a plastic sleeve over the bottom of a flag in a golf hole so, if a ball ends up in the hole, it does not go down to the bottom, thus aiding safe retrieval.

As I said, smart actions.

Also, in Oregon, key staff for the governor here, Kate Brown, said this about golf:

“Golf is allowed as long as the social distancing measures are in place.”

In California, by contrast, Governor Gavin Newsom has mandated that all golf courses close.  Too much, I say.

So, in general, what’s essential?  Well, two answers.  First, as we have seen around the country, it’s in the eye of the government official who imposes a stay at home order.  Second, it is open to individual interpretation – and I hope each of who is doing the interpreting will live up to a goal, which is, I submit, to live within both the spirit and the letter of the new rules.  Be smart.  Guard your own life and the lives of those you love – and add to the list your friends and neighbors.