“I’m not sure the government officials who are shutting down the economy fully appreciate how much we value work and the value of work to our society.”

By Christian Barranco

I am a working man, like most of us. There is an all-consuming peace that comes with knowing that in the morning we have a gainful place to go, where our co-workers, friends and the world at-large needs us to do what we do. Whether that be masonry, carpentry, painting, stocking shelves, pumping gas, pipe-fitting, welding, operating machinery or, like me, doing electrical construction work. It is a basic tenet of a healthy human society and a primary drive within our natural instinct.

These times of pandemic have made for a very stern test of our composure and our individual fortitude. For when the gratifying peace that I just laid out is interrupted the looming reality we live quickly turns to anxiety and despair. I, for one, can’t seem to get past the ever-present desire to just “get back to work”. The paycheck and personal freedom that it brings also tugs at me. These times are unprecedented in my life and I’m 50 years old. I can’t remember the last time our government ever told us “no more work” and that certain places we go to and people we see everyday can no longer operate as they once did.

Now, I do “get the point” about safety, but I still can’t seem to break the overwhelming tug of “getting back to work”. At some point here, I feel that tug is going to overcome the fact that I “get the point”. Americans love to work, we love to feel as if we have a place in society and we are going to meet the demands that are placed at our feet and we will not fail them. Anxiety and despair – caused by economic uncertainty – are terribly unwelcome emotions that are forcibly making their way into the minds of us all in this time of pandemic and government incursion into our personal lives.

I’m not sure the government officials who are shutting down the economy fully appreciate how much we value work and the value of work to our society. I understand their caution; but I’m not sure they understand the damage done by people not working – which could last far longer than the effects of the virus. Some signs of hope would help. Are there plans to re-open businesses? When? Is the government talking to business people and making them part of the solution? Many of us would like to know.

I dearly miss the “Gratifying Peace of Hope and a Path Forward” that my job gives me. I know many of my brothers and sisters feel the same way. At some point, very soon, we will need answers: when does the shutdown end. How? I need my life back- and so does everyone I know.

Barranco, A Jefferson Township resident, is a journeyman member IBEW Local 102 and has worked as a project manager and supervisor on many large industrial and critical energy infrastructure projects in New Jersey. He is also the founder of Square Deal for NJ, an organization founded to encourage ideas to address New Jersey’s many problems