Death of the Handshake?

"Trust in God, but tie your horse" - Proverb

Is Western society being forced to change its behaviors, its social and business norms?

From an early age, most of us have been trained that it is polite to shake hands when meeting someone. In fact, we have been taught that it is rude to decline to shake hands. Many gentleman's agreements and business deals are sealed by the shaking of hands. People in business even judge others by the firmness or weakness of their handshake. We've all heard of the "dead fish handshake".

With the corona virus pandemic upon us, what is our plan? Covid 19 is a threat that spreads quickly as evidenced by the tragic crises in Italy and Spain and now in New York City. Health authorities around the world are telling us to maintain at least 6 feet distance between each other. In much of North America we are being told to stay at home, to "hunker down". In some places people are even being arrested for failure to follow the guidelines.

Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is telling us we should not shake hands. Do we need to find an acceptable substitute for the handshake? The Japanese custom was to bow to the people they were meeting. The yoga greeting, "namaste" literally means, "I bow to you", and the spiritual meaning is "the divine in me respectfully recognizes the divine in you". Respectful bowing might be the most sanitary substitute for the traditional handshake. How long will this go on? Three months? Two years? Forever?

So, if the burly fellow above insists on hugging us and shaking our hands, are we going to refuse. Who will we trust? Our favorite politician, the weightlifter or Dr. Anthony Fauci?

Maybe we should trust in God, but tie up our horse!

Stay safe, my friends.

Week 4 of Covid-19 Crisis, April 12, 2020

Gerald M. Sliva

I wish you a peaceful, healthy, blessed Easter.