Pandemic Panorama

 

                         Cozamel Mexico / Bruce Way

 

         Here we are deep into a natural disaster with no end in sight. There are some serious lessons to meditate on. First up, we need to stop behaving like this virus is so inconvenient to our lifestyle. It's not a big fat bother, this thing is killing millions of people, it's a bitch slap from Mother Nature. The deaths and fatigue are real but all we can do is bear it.

         This plague is playing out pretty much as expected, including an implausible time table for an end and staggering level of government incompetency. Now we are dealing surges, overwhelmed medical staff and delusional freaks.

          There are still people who refuse to wear a mask because they think Covid is a hoax. To them I say "It's just a mask" it's not an infringement on personal liberty, it's a way to protect you from disease. Funny those who scream "mah rights" don't complain about having to wear a shirt and shoes to go into a store or be groped by TSA agents. There are upsides to wearing a mask, you don't have to worry about bad breath, bad teeth, bad make up or forced smiles.

         When restrictions ease people will say "whew now that's over, let's get back to normal" except normal was the perfect environment for the problem to happen in the first place. We can't go back to that normal- we have to acknowledge a new -reality and reset society. Nobody wants to do that and some resist. Please, by all means, lets keep doing the same destructive thing we've been doing for a century and expect different results.

         911 was suppose to wake us up but it took twenty years and a pandemic to get our attention. We are beginning to realize the old ways are gone. Covid has revealed our reality, how we deal with isolation, how our medical infrastructure can handle a disaster, how our economy demands large scale consumption. Do you really need a long commute in traffic to sit in front of a computer when you can do that at home? Look at how much of our economy is based on service and entertainment. Restaurants, bars, theaters, sporting events rely on large attendance. There is a limit to capitalism.

         We are being forced to re examine our traditions. Which do we choose: a long, costly holiday season re enforced by commercialism and media or protection of our personal health? Take a year off from the routine, stay healthy so we can get together next year.

         With isolation we have the time to do things we couldn't do before because of our busy lives. Spend an afternoon reading a book, work in the garden, play with the kids. The things we thought important seem trivial and the trivial things are made important.

         We have learned that the real essential providers are the minimum wage blue collar workers. The bus driver, garbage trucker, hospital nurse, grocery clerk. We must treat them with the respect they deserve because we couldn't function without them.

         Now is the time to discover what we want from the government, economy and most of all, what you want in your life.