May 20, 2020 3 min read

We have flattened the curve on the COVID-19 pandemic. We have prevented health-care resources from being overrun. Now it is time to reopen our businesses, put people back to work and begin healing our economy. We can do this safely and responsibly.

It is absurd that I can go to a national big-box store to purchase essentials, yet I am not permitted to buy those items from a retailer in my community. I am capable of acting responsibly in either place, as I am sure you are as well. There is an old Latin proverb that goes, “If there is no wind . . . row.”

Recent weeks have taken the wind out of the sails of the small business community in our country. These entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of our economy.

Now we must row. and row together. There is strength in numbers, and the more people we reach, the more people who step up, the easier this path becomes for others to follow.

The Greek philosopher Plato wrote, “Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools speak because they have to say something.” Those of us with something to say should speak up.

There are those among us who feel scared or alone. A leader’s job during times of adversity is to shine a light of values, integrity and courage to inspire and keep hope alive. A leader’s job is not to scare, insult and threaten. We cannot move forward with an “us versus them” mentality.

It is time to be Americans. I am sure most of us are acutely aware of our unprecedented unemployment rates and financial hardships for so many of our friends and neighbors.

Healing will not happen by accident, nor will it happen overnight. We cannot cross our fingers and hope the government will bail us out. We need to proceed with courage, humility, focus, ownership and strength and help to heal America. We can have a sustainable, equitable and resilient economy that supports Main Street, while staying safe and healthy to protect our most vulnerable.

Citizens from every community, from all walks of life can and must participate in this healing process. We have much work to do. We must reorient our economic and political systems to better serve people’s needs. We must look to create change that not only is resilient and sustainable, but equitable as well.

Here in Southwestern Pennsylvania, in Washington and Greene counties, we are capable of such change. We are not living in Mayberry anymore, and that is a good thing. Gone are the days when we were Pittsburgh’s little country cousin.

The global economy is at our fingertips. How we move forward will determine whether we can firmly grasp it, or it eludes our reach.

Jamie Protin is founder and principal of The Protin Group in Belle Vernon.

To submit business-related columns, email Rick Shrum at rshrum@observer-reporter.com.