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.

Forgive this post, which is mostly irrelevant given the pandemic we are facing in this country and this world.

But, I persevere.

In my post yesterday – a list of oxymorons on which I had focused to pass the time in the coronavirus stay-at-home order – I forgot one very important one, which I easily should have remembered.

It is this:

“Social distance.”

The fact is that maintaining distance from friends, family and everyone else is not social.  It is something else…almost anti-social.

I mean no disrespect for the term or disagreement with the policy, which, clearly, has worked to slow the spread of the virus.  There is no question but that we should maintain the policy, as well as add new ones to have any chance to control the spread of the virus.

Here is what CNN aired about the social distancing term:

“Public health officials tell us to minimize physical contact in order to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.  While the public, thankfully, is hearing the message, there is a hidden danger:  As we retreat into our homes, we can lose sight of our essential connections to one another and forget about the plight of those most vulnerable to the fraying of social bonds.

“It is important for us all to realize that when they recommend ‘social distancing’ — a phrase that has rapidly entered the public lexicon — what health experts are really promoting are practices that temporarily increase our physical distance from one another in order to slow the spread of the virus.

“They are not recommending social disconnection, social exclusion, or rampant individualism.

“To combat those social ills, we should replace the term ‘social distancing’ with the more precise ‘physical distancing.’  In fact, when we practice physical distancing, we need social connectivity and social responsibility more than ever.”

Again, the purpose of this blog is not to engage in any type of criticism of social distancing or physical distancing or whatever you call it.  It is, rather, just for a moment, to highlight the oxymoronic character of the term – and, then, to move on to emphasize the importance of collective and individual action to respond to the virus.