Chapter 29 “was there any good from the COVIDs?; A sense of community”
There is often some good in a bad situation. The COVIDs brought about a sense of community. It may have been brought about by emergency orders which imposed social distancing, closed nonessential businesses, and prohibited large gatherings all in the name of public good. All the activities we took for granted like going to the bank, getting a haircut, having friends over for dinner and many others were now denied to us so we really had very little of our regular activities to engage in. Our geographic range was limited.
It seemed as if there were hundreds of people strolling in the streets and complete strangers actually talked to each other! Yes it was a if our worlds became simpler. In many ways it also brought with it a sense of international solidarity where the enemy was not China or Russia but a virus the world was trying to beat.
It brought families closer together and made one realize you had to work on it to keep the family whole and that was often by Facetime or Zoom. The old-style family dinner with all present instead of mom or dad at the office. Yes it was like “Leave it to Beaver”. And the nanny, for the few that could afford it, slipped into the background.
There was a sense of repression, anxiety and fear and the dreaded line ups for grocery shopping all became the main topics of conversation. And the panicked toilet paper and baked bean purchases were good for a chuckle.
Yet you know in a small town everyone knows your business so with this sense of community there were those that ratted on others on complaint hotlines. There was social shaming of those partying at the beach on Memorial Day week-end. Community can be stifling!
All said and done the enormous depravity caused by the COVIDs caused a universal and shared sense of community.
