Millions
of Americans find themselves under some kind of social
distancing order. Many
cities and counties, and some states,
have imposed shelter-in-place requirements as a way of fighting the coronavirus. Some political leaders and
media pundits have cast the need for social
distancing in patriotic terms,
invoking John
F. Kennedy’s “…ask what you can do for your country”
language as a way of inspiring compliance with social distancing orders or
requests.
JFK
delivering inaugural speech, 1963
There is a lot going on
in the world now and a lot we could talk about. Today, we explore social
distancing and its current and future influence on life in America. How are
people coping? What does this practice mean for the nation going forward?
We’re
All Day-to-Day
Sports
teams describe players with injuries that leave the player’s status uncertain
as “day-to-day.” It means the player might or might not make the next practice
or game. Whether he or she participates depends on
healing, rehab, pain toleration, the player's mental
attitude, etc. Given the uncertainty brought on by the coronavirus
pandemic, many people are feeling day-to-day about life.
Much
uncertainty exists about what contracting
the disease means. A minor
irritation akin to the common
cold?
Severe illness and hospitalization resembling pneumonia?
A death
sentence? The answers
depend on age, overall health, availability of medical care, and some unknowns.
There’s a lot we don’t know about this disease, as the absence of a vaccine
demonstrates.
That
brings us to another problem. The United
States lacks sufficient medical resources for fighting a massive outbreak in
which
huge numbers of people require hospitalization. Health officials cry out for ventilators
for patients and for masks and other protective gear for medical workers. Many
people justifiably fear contaminated medical providers and equipment.
Ventilator & Protective Gear needed for Covid-19 care
Another thing creating
uncertainty lies in the fact no one knows when this situation will improve.
Projections of the duration run weeks, to months, to a year and a half, the
earliest we’ve heard we might expect a vaccine.
In the meantime, we suffer loss of human contact, sports, and other
things that make us whole. Neither men nor women live by adequately stocked
grocery stores alone.
How
long must we stay home, avoid friends and
neighbors, forsake bars, restaurants, and other gathering places? How long before we can give a friend or
business colleague a firm handshake or big hug expressing our joy
The
New Normal
After
the September
11 attacks people asked when we’d get back to normal. The
truth is
that it didn’t take long, but it never happened. Yes, by October we
returned to work, flew again on airplanes, and shopped in stores, things people
questioned if we’d do anytime soon after those bleak days in September 2001.
Life got going again, but with big differences.
We put up with things –
intrusive airport security, metal detectors, and bag searches
at sporting
events, massive camera surveillance
on public streets – we never thought we’d stand for. We accepted, in the form
of the Patriot
Act,
censorship and other limits on civil liberties many of us abhor. We haven’t
felt much of that law’s sting lately because we haven’t had another attack
approaching the magnitude of September 11. Those provisions remain in place,
however, and the government will trot them out in the event of another
calamity. America usually lives with a “New Normal” after tragedies and the
coronavirus will probably produce its own. Like
what? Start with economic
dislocation.
Even if this ends before summer, the
The United States will face significant economic problems going forward. Despite
the stimulus
package, some small businesses –and many
What
about replenishing and restocking the
medical supplies being used up in this
pandemic? Is this a warning about our health care system in general? We won’t
debate Medicare-for-All
v. some other approach here. But, doesn’t this crisis make clear we must tackle
the entire health care issue with the objective of getting every American
insured?
At
a social level, how soon will Americans
feel comfortable attending sporting
events, patronizing theaters, eating at
restaurants, and showing up at other places where large crowds gather? Since
many houses
of worship coped with the virus crisis by putting services online, could that become the new way we do church in America? Could corporate
worship services become obsolete and won’t this new approach affect church
giving? How about shopping? Will more and more of it happen online? Will brick and mortar stores become a thing of the
past? What’s
the long-term impact on voting? Did the pandemic make a definitive
case for voting by
mail? Will personalized political
gatherings go extinct, since campaigning for office likely will change?
We are in uncharted territory.
Americans are resilient, as demonstrated in past calamities. Everything in our
history says we’ll bounce back. It will, however, take some time and some things
may forever look different.
