Gov. Andy Beshear has earned national renown and praise for his handling of COVID-19 in his state.
For the past couple of months, the novel coronavirus has been wreaking havoc on whatever semblance of a society we have left.
Our world is changing, seemingly at the speed of light. Gen Z and Millenials went from being told that we were too obsessed with technology to being ordered to function on it entirely. Our means of shopping for food and day-to-day necessities has been altered. Our learning style has been forcibly changed.
Even tax day has been postponed, although maybe that change comes as more of a relief than a setback.
Through each and every change, Beshear has been there to ease Kentucky through it. Despite the constant influx of breaking news, Beshear has addressed his constituents daily with words meant to comfort and inform. He has been setting trends for weeks now, calling for social distancing, encouraging businesses to have non-essential personnel and staff work from home and sending schools into all-online classes.
The morning of Wednesday, March 25, Beshear made an executive order to shut down all non-life-sustaining businesses; this order follows an order that shut down all non-essential retail businesses.
All of these have been great methods of keeping Kentucky’s cases of COVID-19 at a minimum, but this is not what Beshear has become popular for.
Everyday at 4 p.m. CST, Beshear addresses his constituents in a livestream. He gives updates on the infection rate, new cases in Kentucky, how the government is working with the medical system to give out as much aid as possible and tells people how they can keep themselves safe and healthy. He is proving the importance of communication via the internet and electronics (along with the help of sweet, well-loved Kenneth Mansfield and Virginia Moore).
“I’m done with politics,” Beshear said in an interview with WDRB.
The Kentucky governor is now solely focused on reducing the risk and spread of COVID-19. He said it’s about protecting his people.
And his people could not be prouder of their governor. They are flooding him with support, commenting their appreciation for his humility and drastic action all over his livestreams. Some of Kentucky’s youth have even taken it upon themselves to create a meme page meant for humorous pictures of praise for the governor. Many of them display Beshear as a father shielding his child (Kentucky) from something the meme creator has pasted the word “coronavirus” over.
Beshear is seemingly moving mountains for his people. He is a father helping his child over a big rain puddle, only Kentucky is the child and COVID-19 is the big rain puddle. A political figure who cares deeply for his state and people is practically uncharted territory for not only Kentucky, but all of America. After almost four years with President Donald Trump and four years with former Gov. Matt Bevin, Kentucky truly forgot what it was like to have competent leaders.
Now that there is such a leader in office, the people who call Kentucky home are unconditionally grateful. Beshear hasn’t been in office long, but he has already shown his state that there are no lengths he will not go to in order to protect them.
It’s amazing to have a governor who is on #TeamKentucky again.