(1) Follow the links Apeldorf provides to look at those documents more closely and in context. Choose one and use it to answer the question, “How did U.S. Citizens Serve their Communities during the Spanish Flu?”
- I decided to examine the link to the headline from the news article, “Many Women Are Nursing; More Badly Needed”. Here, the Red Cross urges women to join the many women who are currently nursing without compensation. Not only nursing, but “help of various kinds: “serving meals, caring for small children, and helping in household affairs generally.” It urged young women to recognize the direness of the situation and the urgent need for nurses. However, it never stated that the women be qualified as nurses, and they are strongly implying that women do it without pay as it is their role as a female citizen. This shows only one way U.S. citizens were serving their communities during the 1918 pandemic. The Red Cross urged people to pay for the membership in order to employ these young women to help in all aspects of need. Women played a key role in serving their communities through serving as nurses and general caretakers for people who could not do so themselves, while the men were away serving in WWI.
(2) Then follow the link to the “Red Cross Activities” article. What stands out to you about their activities? Pick an example or two to describe.
- I focused particularly on the “Surgical Dressings” and “All Yanks in Trenches Carry Red Cross Comfort Kit” sections. A lot of the Red Cross activities were particularly focused on the soldiers overseas who were in combat. Soldiers had even mentioned that they do not think of the Red Cross as a separate entity, but as a branch of the U.S. military due to how crucial their efforts have been for the soldiers. The “Surgical Dressings” section urges women to speed up gauze-making for soldiers. It stated that every moment a woman is feeling the need to pause while making this gauze, to think of the blood of the soldiers that stain it; that each drop of blood falls for the people back at home. The “Red Cross Comfort Kit” section praised the women who constructed the soldiers’ comfort kit, which contained a towel, shirt, writing paper, pencil, soap, handkerchief, socks, mirror, and tobacco. It lends gratitude and credibility to the women who made them by assuring that they have brought great comfort to the soldiers on the firing line. It’s interesting to me how women, although given some credit, were often not praised directly by these soldiers. They usually only thanked the men responsible for the Red Cross. Although women were given some credit, I believe more was deserved.
(3) The last question Apeldorf raises highlights the connections between government, private citizens, and private, “voluntary organizations.” He asks you to think about what, together, these can teach us about civic virtue.
- Civic virtue is defined as the harvesting of habits that are important for the success of a community. During the 1918 pandemic, men were away serving in WWI and the women were called to the frontlines as nurses and caretakers through RedCross, a voluntary organization. Serving in organizations such as these in order for the benefit of a community ultimately benefits a communities success and even its morale. Private citizens partake in private organizations. If enough of this individuals do so, government may take notice and begin to support these organizations. However, it is equally important for private organizations like these to stay separate from the government. Communities need these opportunities to serve their communities. The criteria of civic virtue is dependent on the environment in which the community is faced with in that period of time. It depends on the voluntary acts of its members to be there and serve their communities when others cannot. Just as the soldiers of WWI were away fighting for the protection of their citizens and communities back home, the women were home on the frontlines of a deadly pandemic. It was a battlefield for both of them. Now, here in 2020, we are faced with another pandemic. We are also faced with the largest election in history. Civic virtue is dependent on individuals’ capacity to respect each other and have empathy. It also means serving community members with actions that they cannot do themselves. The success in a citizen isn’t based on their job, but their willingness and versatility to support their community in need.
