Without question, it is obvious that we are living through American history.
Quite chilling times, actually, as models now predict stunning numbers of infected as we move into the future. If you are not worried and somewhat afraid, you are not listening.
Never have we faced so many moral choices and never have so many aspects of society been laid so bare for all to see.
More ironic perhaps, is while we sit in place with time to think, the world around us is changing so fast that it is truly hard to keep up.
The coronavirus pandemic combines the shock of 9/11, the gravity of World War II and the terror of the Spanish flu into a sensory experience that, I suggest, few living through it will ever be able to forget.
We are collectively surviving within the relative safety of our homes, which offers protection, albeit with a very thin veil. Facing an insurgent threat from a microscopic organism with multiple points of entry is, indeed, unforgettable.
We are only beginning to understand the enormity of our current, collective state of affairs. While it may be impossible to now know how exactly the world will change, be sure that it will.
Isolation is apparently quite the teacher. Many have discovered that there is much more to life aside from the comfortable, yet shallow trappings to which we had become so accustomed.
Neighbors are realizing what a pleasure it is to just have friends and neighbors. We miss them. Most people seemingly yearn to return to the simple things in life.
For the first time in a very long time, Americans have a common purpose…and when that purpose deals in many ways with self-survival, we tend to pay closer attention.
There is already much evidence to suggest just how much the public mood has shifted. Interestingly, even some major celebrities were rebuked for totally tone-deaf posts. Madonna reportedly even resorted to calling the crisis “the great equalizer.”
That much is true. She is correct as trepid Americans are seeing heroic actions from ordinary people, much like themselves, risking their lives to do the everyday things that it takes to keep the country going. Things like delivering mail, pumping gas, truck drivers, delivery people and those stocking and bagging groceries.
In good times, they get little notice. Today, they are saving lives and people know it.
Then we have the first responders, the health care professionals and doctors on the front lines of the pandemic. Nurses, doctors and others have indeed lost their lives as they risked their own to treat the random victims who, are healthy one day, in intensive care the next.
Not just here, as citizens around the world are showing their respect, thanks and gratitude to those who “walk into the fire” of coronavirus infections every day to bring comfort and health to the many random victims of this insidious disease. It comes for anyone.
he public seems for good reason to be much more interested in the roles these dedicated professionals are playing in the most compelling drama of the new century. COVID-19 has put us all on the same stage.
When testing was very rare, superstar players were being tested while the poor guys and gals who may have driven the stakes in the ground to build their performance arenas had to wait…or not be tested at all. Nothing against the superstars, they are merely human and want to be healthy as well, but it does demonstrate the culture in which COVID-19 was discovered and that be transformed by this epic epidemic.
For sure, America may at some point jump back onto the fast lane and return to a culture of fame. For now, however, Americans have again displayed the innate wisdom that has guided us since our democracy began. Occasionally, we get sidetracked, but always unite and seem to understand what really matters.
For now, with good reason, we have redefined the definition of hero as we watch ordinary people on the frontline of this crisis do extraordinary things every single day. For them, and for us, a life or death struggles.
From our reporting, we know citizens in Rossmoor, Los Alamitos, La Palma and Cypress are working together extraordinarily well. These are unpleasant times, for sure, but our collective embrace of each other is indeed worthy of note and an aspiration for the future.
Having a chance to individually perform our civic duties may teach us lessons that outlast the pandemic and the fact that we have already somewhat redefined the role of a hero is a really good start.
