Crisis

Times of uncertainty are when people will show their true character. It seems as though when things are business as usual, many people are allowed to go through their everyday lives while wearing a mask of the person they wish for others to see them as. In times of crisis, that luxury is no longer present. It's interesting how fragile normalcy really is. We think that the bonds that hold our society together are so strong but the simple truth is that this is nothing more than an exceptionally effective facade. When the social world that we've created for ourselves is tested is when we begin to see that things aren't nearly as secure as many believe them to be. We see that PEOPLE aren't as secure as we would like to think they are. I'm sure you can imagine the most recent crisis that has gotten me to write about this, but I already talked about the disease itself, so this entry is more going to be about the societal response to it. In most ways, the Corona Virus is no different than any other outbreak in terms of it's general impact on society, is what I would have said just about a week ago. Now it has proven to be quite different. It has turned into something of a test for this world and it is a test that, in some regards, is being failed. The failure I'm referring to involves the people who have allowed this pandemic to drive them mad. The people who have been panic buying, the people who have been forgoing warnings and continuing to gather in public, and the people who have either downplayed or overblown this crisis have all failed this grand test in my eyes. I think it would be incorrect to say this is the end of the world, but I also think it would be mistaken to say this isn't to be taken seriously. Covid-19 is by no means an apocalyptic scenario. There have been many worse outbreaks throughout history and humanity has always recovered. However, that should by no means be a reason to brush this off. The reason this disease is so concerning to me is that it appears to be spreading so quickly IN SPITE of the fact that we have advanced so far in terms of modern medicine and our understanding of disease. I've known for quite some time that the unfortunate truth is that even though science is constantly expanding, disease has a way of keeping up with it in a sort of cruel race. This novel disease is the latest that appears to really be giving society a run for its money. I've seen all sorts of reactions to this situation. I've seen people essentially brush it off as nothing, I've seen people say this is the end of days and I've seen most people stuck somewhere in the middle ground of attempting to continue with their everyday lives while managing the stress and physical health dangers of continuing on in this world that's desperately trying to contain the damage. One of the biggest terms we've been hearing recently is "social distancing". This is brilliant and I'm glad it has caught on like wildfire. In the past, disease was such a ravaging force because we lived in conditions that made us sitting ducks. In the medieval era, people often lived in extremely crowded cities with absolutely abysmal sanitary conditions. This was largely why the black death was as devastating as it was. These days we seem to know a little better. We've learned that when we are all close to each other, illness is more easily transmitted so we're doing all that we can to prevent that. That is to say, most people are doing that. It's particularly frustrating to see many people disregarding this but living in a somewhat larger city myself, I can say that I haven't seen this on a very large scale. At the very least I hope that all those that are social distancing, myself included, will be enough to slow the rate of growth enough to keep it manageable for our medical system. I've dealt with a fair share of national crises in my life, but this one appears to be dominating everything. There are always underlying crises; gun violence, drugs, global warming, etc. These are issues that are frequently being discussed but unfortunately we don't see much action on them. They are crises that need to be addressed but I feel as though many see them as issues we can just sort of chip away at. The Corona Virus is no such issue. If immediate action isn't taken to stem this crisis, there is no doubt in my mind that it will be nothing short of devastating. Given all that, I'm still not going to lose my head. The reason I wont be doing that is because it's quite simply not an option. I've gone insane before, I've lost hope before, I've given up before, and I won't be going back to that. It's a truly bleak place and it's utter pointlessness is maddening. Ultimately crises require a level head, but more than that. They require massive group action, people stepping up. I'm thrilled to be seeing that. I think that as long as the world continues to take this seriously and the right people are at the reigns, things will be alright. We will recover, we will move on, we will one day (hopefully soon) enjoy life as it was. There will be normalcy but it will require effort to be achieved. If we really want it back, it is my mindset that we must be willing to fight for it by accepting the fact that we will not have life as normal for a little while. Another thing that is giving me hope, is the very strong possibility that there will be a significant change in perspective once this is all over. I'm not entirely sure where everyone's heads will be at once we have made it through this crucible but I'm hoping it will be a mindset that is ready to improve this world on a scale never seen before.