Are We Closer or Further Apart?
It seems that crises such as this one either drive us apart (e.g. the Syrian civil war) or bring us together (e.g. World War II).As a life-long critic of homo sapiens generally, I am somewhat surprised and gratified that Covid 19 has brought us so close to each other. Of course, to those locked up inside with families this can literally be too much of a good thing, but I’m thinking more of society in general. People are doing things for each other that they have never done before – for example, calling frequently just to check in, or asking if they can help with shopping. There may be hope for us yet.
Hello Jerry, thanks for posting! This adversity may on balance bring out people’s better natures — people as individuals — but I’m worried about its effect on people in groups. I.e. states that compete for scarce medical resources.
I think this crisis will make many more people see the vulnerability of most working people. They live on the edge and need a much more robust social safety net. Hopefully, people will start voting with this in mind.
This post from Italy makes much the same point. The author is Marco Fioretti and he is writing a series of posts from the belly of the pandemic lockdown in that country. http://stop.zona-m.net/2020/03/covid19-in-italy-or-making-things-as-simple-as-possible/
Early start today. Lunds opens for seniors from 7:00 – 8:00 am. Plenty of food and not heavy traffic. Keep your distance at check-out counter and clerk sanitizes the conveyer belt after each new customer. Close to enough food for two weeks for two. Slow leak in car tire. Tires Plus in Highland fixed (a screw) and no charge. A very good day. Picked up a prescription at Smily’s pharmacy and clerk sanitized the counter and pen before she would let me pick up the prescription. Finished book club reading assignment of “Sand Sounty Almanac.” A good read on how the land, animals, and plants used to be in the Wisconsin Drift-less area 60 to 80 years ago.