At one stroke past midnight, January 1, 2020 an estimated 100,000 people jammed New York’s Times Square to celebrate the first day of a new decade. Revelers were dancing, high-fiving, kissing strangers, and gleefully rubbing elbows with each other. Life was good, and was going to get better, they knew, in the coming year.
Almost three months later, as we approach the end of March, 2020, Time’s Square is deserted, as are the streets of New York and the subway beneath, and “the city that never sleeps”…is asleep. Gloom and despair permeate Gotham, as if the Joker himself had seized control.
Who would have believed, just 90 days ago, that scenes like this would be commonplace in famous locations throughout the world? How about the Pope celebrating Mass at St. Peter’s Square in Rome with an audience of zero worshippers? It happened last Sunday.
The Covid-19 pandemic has very quickly transformed our world into a place that’s hard to imagine. A fancy word for this is dystopia: a society that is undesirable or frightening. It is the antonym of utopia, that wonderful world that we Americans thought we inhabited just a short time ago.
Mad Max, Snake Plisken and Deckard would be at home in this new reality. Optimism is in short supply, nervousness, distrust, and despair dominate emotions, and Doomsday Preppers are saying, “We warned you!” Today, the guys carrying the “End is Near” placards have a bounce in their step.
Yeah, I know that’s an exaggeration, but…three million Americans who had jobs on January 1st are now unemployed, with probably several million more anticipating pink slips in the coming week. Thousands of our citizens have died and the number of infected people is ramping up, day by day.
People can’t touch each other, so a pat on the back, or a sincere hug, to an acquaintance who got fired, is…not socially acceptable. (That really sucks, because my wife and I are “huggers”: so, we must stay 6′ from the nearest human being.)
Who could have predicted that, in the short span of twelve weeks, shopping clerks, medical care personnel, and fat guys driving 18-wheel trucks would replace emergency first-responders and brave soldiers as our national heroes?
Or, would you believe that one could find no paper goods on the shelves in Walmart and Costco? Believe it or not, toilet paper and hand sanitizer have become “collectibles”.
New words and phrases have recently become important, like “Social distancing”, “Covid-19”, “pandemic”, “abundance of caution”, “personal space”, “Purell”, “N-95 masks”, “PPE”, “ventilator”, “flattening the curve”, “coronavirus”, and “Chinese Flu”. New superstars have emerged, like Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief epidemiologist at the White House. Catch phrases have been born, like “thin the herd”, “the cure can’t be worse than the problem”, and “lifeline funding”.
Washing hands with soap for twenty seconds at a pop has become a national fad, and it is not uncommon to see people wearing face masks at the neighborhood grocery store.
In March, 2020, there are no sporting events on ESPN, no live concerts anywhere in the world, the 2020 Olympics have been canceled, and no conventions are being held in Las Vegas. As a matter of fact, there is nothing happening in Sin City…even the slot machines are silent. Churches are empty on Sunday, for God’s Sake!
Social niceties like politicians shaking hands or kissing babies, neighbors holding potluck socials, pancake breakfast fundraisers, children smooching Grandma, and friends hugging are verboten…totally bad form.
Holding hands with Uncle Joe, as he lies dying in the hospital, is not allowed; in fact, relatives can’t visit Joe. As a matter of fact, should he die, there will be no funerals, Irish wakes, or “Celebrations of Life” for poor guy. He won’t get a send-off to Heaven (or, Hell).
Crowds, of any size, anywhere, are discouraged, by order of the government. Sports stadiums lie vacant, and millionaire professional athletes must keep in shape in their home gyms and polish their own Lamborghinis. I feel for them.
So, this Spring, high school senior will not enjoy Proms and Graduation ceremonies. There will be no Masters golf tournament, Kentucky Derby, or Indianapolis 500. Weddings will be attended “virtually”, as will birthday parties for the kiddies. Many of our national parks are closed, as are many beaches, city parks, skating rinks, and Little League ball parks. The Washington D.C. Cherry Festival will be unattended, as will the massive Coachella music festival. In fact, all Spring festivals are canceled. Retail shopping malls are shuttered, as are all bars and restaurants.
All over the country, summer vacation reservations are being canceled. Charlie and I are scheduled for our annual two-month trip to the Oregon and California coasts, departure date June 27th. It looks right now that we’ll be, instead, doing a “stay-cation” right here in Mesquite, Nevada. That will suck, particularly in July and August, when high temps are around 120 degrees and you can fry eggs on the sidewalk.
The fun and gaiety of normal life has disappeared. For the time being, the word “weekend” has no meaning. Every day is just another, where family members watch TV, eat, and get annoyed with each other. Fresh air, traffic jams, and those loud, abnoxious neighbors are…missed.
The college basketball Final Four is canceled, as is the NBA season (and, perhaps, the Playoffs). Round ball junkies are considering slitting their wrists.
Blue collar “Lunch-pail Joes” are grounded, for the most part, having to endure long days cooped up at home with their screaming kids who have nothing to do. Their stay-at-home wives are saying, “Now you know what I’m talkin’ about!” Increases in suicides, domestic violence, and divorce are likely.
Children are at the breaking point: “When can we go back to school?” they’re pleading. “I’ll even do my homework!”
It’s weird, today, on March 28th: everything is topsy-turvy.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but “It sucks to live in 2020!”
However, there are some positive things about our temporary, dystopian lifestyle. How about the United States Senate voting unanimously to pass a piece of legislation? Those dysfunctional idiots can’t agree that water is wet. How about the public outpouring of “Thank Yous” for our medical care professionals? How about a greater appreciation of family, particularly when our patriarchs are at grave risk? How about society working together to solve a problem…by staying apart? And, how about the untold spontaneous acts of kindness to help hurting people get through the crisis?
Everyone seems to know that they are soldiers in the fight against the invisible foe, and, with few exceptions, they’re “all in”. Hospital staff, at great danger to themselves (and, thus, their families), show up to work long hours with insufficient supplies and personal protection gear. Politicians have their noses to the grindstone, trying to ignore their re-election “campaigns”, and acting mature, for a change. Everyday folks are doing their parts, keeping in quarantine, staying away from loved ones and neighborhood BFFs. Bad and weird people, like criminals and militia members, are holed-up, planning their next moves, probably. (But, at least, they’re not out doing harm.)
There are two ways of looking at the world, in my opinion.
Some people view our planet as a battlefield where humans compete to accumulate things, power, and prestige. As Liza Minelli sang in Cabaret, “Money makes the world go round”. It’s sad to say, but it seems to be 100 percent true, that our current President thinks this way. People like this have an insatiable quest for “more”, and view each day as another battle in the “survival of the fittest”. They want their piece of pie and yours, too. They’re better than you, so they deserve it. “The guy with the most toys wins”, “It’s every man for himself”, etc. They’re the first guys in the lifeboat…women and children be damned. And, they’re not team players.
And, then, their are the other people, the majority of mankind, I believe, who are motivated by love.
“All You Need Is Love” sang the Beatles. That would be love of your fellow men, the trait of humanity that brings people together, rather than divides them.
When people do something voluntarily, out of charity and concern for others’ well-being, they are exhibiting an act of love. When health care professionals work double-shifts, at risk to themselves, to keep strangers from dying, that’s love. People are suffering right now, economically and emotionally, but, as a society, they are banding together to confront an invader. That’s because they love their communities and their neighbors and they love their country. “One for all, all for one!”
It’s pretty amazing to see, actually. I imagine beleaguered Londoners felt this way during the Blitz in 1940/41. “Is that all you’ve got, Mr. Hitler?”
And, so, that odd place that we inhabit right now, in March, 2020, is only a temporary mirage, a creepy battlefield where patience and perseverance and togetherness battle a pesky germ.
United, but socially distant, humanity is working to, and eventually will, beat back this scourge. As the saying goes, “Love conquers all.”
