How many times have we read this over the past six weeks? How may ‘futurists’ or even just journalistic wags tell us about the “New Normal.” I frankly am sick of it.
Our lives and social structure change constantly. And the coronavirus has nothing to do with it. We live in a climate of change. It is brought about by innovation, by ideas, by trying, failing, and trying again. Some change us slowly, like the industrial revolution, or the renaissance. Others change us quickly like air travel, computers, and smart phones. But a couple of months of forced separation is simply not going to make structural changes in our society. We won’t stand for it.
I don’t expect we will be wearing masks forever in the future. At least I won’t. I don’t expect that we won’t be able to hug our friends when we meet or shake hands. I will not stand for it. And neither will most of the people on the planet.
I refuse to give up my power, my self, to the media and the government. Every time I turn around, I’m given conflicting information about what to wear, where to go, and why I’m supposed to do those things.
Have you noticed that there are no longer headlines about “thousands dying”, or “hospitals jammed” or “Virus spreading?” Why? Because people know better. We talk to our neighbors and have difficulty even finding someone who knows someone who had the virus. We talk to the nurse or doctor who lives down the street and know the ERs are empty. We know the numbers are going down. We know that when the governor or mayor tells us the world is ending, that it’s not true.
And we know the world will be the same again. We know that we will go out to restaurants and bars and concerts and ball games and yes, back to work and school. We know that this will happen sooner rather than later. We know this in our hearts.
The fellow who is riding the bicycle alone on the street will realize that there is no rational reason to wear a mask. The parents who are watching their kids dodge cars while playing in the street will know that there is no rational reason to close a park or a beach. The young lovers taking a walk hand in hand will know there is no rational reason to wear masks to protect them from one another. The woman walking her dog will realize that there is no rational reason to duck into traffic so she won’t have to come within six feel of another person walking down the sidewalk.
We are rational human beings and we will shortly realize that there is no “new normal.” We will return to the way we were three short months ago.
JVH
One Response
Let’s be honest, we live in the world’s most litigious society and whether or not there is going to be a “new normal” or a return to the “old normal” for us it is going to be determined by lawyers and insurance.