Monday, March 23, 2020

COVID blog - Day 10 - How Long?


How long?

Kelly has brought this up to me a couple times recently, and I’ve been thinking about it quite a bit today.  How long will it be like this?  There are a few layers to this question… I understand that we might be at the precipice (indeed we might be beyond it at this point - in sort of a Wile E. Coyote suspended realization) of a “new normal”.  But that’s not exactly what I mean.  (And it’s not exactly what Kelly is asking).  Sure, this entire event might usher in an era of new ways to participate in education, commerce, government, etc… but in some of those cases, it’s merely a catalyst for change that was already occurring.  

What Kelly is asking is “how long can we sustain a collective effort?”  Right now, many states are “sheltering-in-place” with mostly broad compliance.  If what we read from experts is true, this will have to remain in place for a while -- potentially with more stringent limitations.  I wonder how long Americans will be willing to do that.  We’ve seen this largely be successful in countries that have a greater appreciation of “collective responsibility” (I’m making a cultural comparison here, not political).  There are countless names for it, but I would contend that American’s have a deeply held affection for what we like to call “rugged individualism.”  Bootstraps and all that.  It certainly has its merits (innovation, expansion, etc).  But it’s also at least adjacent to the kind of “American spirit” that prompts us to shoot guns at hurricanes.  And I wonder how it will impact our response to this pandemic. 

I don’t want to besmirch my fellow Americans… I think on the front end of this pandemic we have been and will continue to go to great efforts (and in many cases, pay great costs) for each other.  As Fred Rogers encouraged us: “look for the helpers.”  There have been a lot of helpers.  But a part of me wonders how long that will last.  How long before a refrain of “I’ll hang out with my friends if I want - it’s a free country” becomes more common?  How long will we be willing to collectively sacrifice our comforts for our neighbors?  

As has been noted, I’ve been running more lately.  I went on a run today around 5pm.  The temperature was in the low 40s… there were people everywhere.  It seemed to me (with one notable exception) that everyone was keeping their distance from non-family members, but I was taken aback at how many people were outside.  Walking dogs, running, playing basketball, riding bikes… there were people all over.  It *looked* nice outside because it was sunny, but again, it was like 44 degrees.  Not necessarily pleasant.

Now, It’s supposed to be high-50s on Wednesday and warmer next week.  If you’ve never experienced an early spring day in Chicago where it’s actually nice out… the city (and surrounding area) just comes alive… you can almost hear David Attenborough narrating, “bleary-eyed citizens emerge from their winter hibernation and greet the sun and each other as new life emerges throughout the formerly bleak landscape.”  Normally, it’s beautiful.  But I almost can’t imagine what it will be like with the current shelter-in-place order.  What will playgrounds look like?  Parks?  Paths?  I can’t see how people will stay 6 feet from each other.  And I’m primarily describing suburban environments.  I can’t imagine what it will be like in the city.  Where can you even go?  I realize “stay in your home” is a potential response, but I think that reaction belies an understanding of what it’s like to come out the other side of a Chicago winter… your body needs to get outside.  

I worry about this.  I worry about recent reports of people pushing to get rid of “lockdowns” to “save the economy” (in the face of a chorus of experts claiming this would be disastrous for human life).  Really though, I worry about our collective will to care for each other over our own interests.  That is not a uniquely American problem.  It’s human nature.  But I worry that in America, we’ve constructed systems and grown used to practices that will make it exceedingly difficult in the coming months...

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