Ramadan 2025 Day Twenty-One: Community Care

“And among humankind is one who pays for distracting tales,
intending, with no knowledge, to lead others from the path of Allah,
and make a mockery of it.
There will be a humiliating punishment for him.
When Our Signs are recited to him,
he turns away with disdain as if he had not heard them,
as if there is heaviness in his ears.
​In that case, share with him the tidings of painful punishment.”
-Sura Luqman

Content warning: COVID pandemic mentioned)

​What causes someone to ignore the truth? And not just ignore it, but actively invest in convincing others to listen to something else?

We are five years into a pandemic that has been so poorly handled, so violently ignored and prolonged, it is terrifying to think about what could come next. Scratch that, we know what is coming next…or rather coming back. And there is absolutely no rational reason for it.

The truth is that we have ways of caring for ourselves and each other that work. That there are people who have dedicated their lives to the sacred work of community health, and have provided methods that cost us little to nothing in exchange for our collective safety and wellbeing. Methods that have clearly demonstrated their ability to effectively save lives.

Why then do some ignore this truth? Why are they so against the idea that we all have the power and responsibility to sustain community care? Why are so many of us willing to let our neighbors die in the name of protecting the lie that our individual choices have no impact on each other?

Ignoring our interdependence does not make it any less real. Telling ourselves the false story that our survival is not mutually dependent doesn’t change the fact that if one of us falls, we are all weaker for it.

Whether we are talking about vaccines and masks; food and water; shelter and welcome; rest and joy - pursuing and creating access to all of these avenues of care create more resilience. More access and inclusion. More collective capacity.

Acknowledging and living out the truth that we must take care of each other is how we create communities with love at the center.