Sacrifice now to live better later

If you're in debt, you may need to live on ramen noodles until you can afford caviar. Or as syndicated radio talk show host Dave Ramsey explains, "If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else." Maybe we should adopt Ramsey's philosophy to beat COVID-19.

The Ramsey mantra, tweaked for pandemic elimination, might say, "Live like you have to NOW so you can live like you want to LATER."

This blithely assumes that enough people will still mask, social distance and get vaccinated/boosted. After months of stagnation, despite free vaccines and testing, this is asking too much, apparently. Many Americans act like they'd rather carry debt than a face mask.

Each generation has defined - maybe diluted is a better word - "sacrifice" until the term requires less actual sacrifice.

Terms like "rationing" might sound quaint to post- World War II Americans, but in the 1940s, rationing meant doing without tires, gasoline and other necessities that we, especially our face mask haters, take for granted. During World War II, a kitchen without meat, coffee and fruit represented a degree of sacrifice. Today, even after several largely oil-related Mideast conflicts, sacrifice means driving a cheaper SUV, or worse, a (gulp) sedan.

Can we please reinstate true sacrifice until we return to our pre-COVID lives? I miss taking things for granted.

Jim Newton

Itasca