Will we ever be the same? I hope not

Will we ever be the same? I hope not

We will never be the same. At least that’s what they tell me.

This COVID-19 outbreak has, supposedly, changed us forever.

I’ll believe it when I see it. And, history is on my side on this one.

World War I was supposed to be the war that ended all wars and we would never be the
same. But guess what? It wasn’t long before we found ourselves marching off to World
War II. The evil of American racism was supposedly settled with the Civil Rights movement. No longer would people be discriminated against. No longer would you be judged based
upon your race or beliefs. We would never be the same. We see how that worked out,
especially since so many still hold a grudge about a black man living in the White
House.

After Vietnam, we swore we’d never again become entangled in a war that has no end,
that we would never be the same. Last time I checked, we still have men and women in
harm’s way in the Middle East. And, of course, we all talked about how we would never be the same after Sept. 11, 2001, and the terrorist attacks.

Well, folks, guess what, we are the same and I seriously doubt COVID-19 is going to do
a damn thing to change that.

Look, I understand that there are some incredible people doing wonderful things right
now – shopping for elderly neighbors, trying to lift each other’s spirits via social media
and the Internet, and hand-stitching facemasks for doctors, nurses, and first responders;
they are the true selfless heroes.

But, I also look around at fat cats giving each other insider info on how to make a ton of
money as the economy crashes, price gouging, people hoarding everything from toilet
paper to God knows what else. I have no problem with people making money, just don’t
take advantage of the disadvantaged when you do.

The states are bidding against each other for precious few items that could mean the
difference between life and death. Because so many of us live paycheck to paycheck,
many are afraid of losing their homes, their jobs, the ability to pay for life-saving medical
attention.

We have a president whose incompetence has never been more on display than right
now as he doles out lies and misinformation and remains locked into petty grievances
during his daily press briefings. I swear I now know why Elvis used to shoot up the
televisions in his hotel rooms. Watching this guy has, more than once, inflamed me to
the point of wanting to hurl the remote through the screen.

His goal of putting everybody in church on Easter Sunday would be nice if it came from
somebody other than a serial philanderer whose unacceptable, lewd behavior didn’t
frame his character; whose lies didn’t foul the very air we breathe; whose concern lies
more with the economy and uber-rich than in saving lives.

Practically, we will see some change, I’m sure.

I would just about guarantee that many businesses that are opting to allow their
employees to work from home right now will figure out the immense savings to their
bottom line by doing so after all of the self-quarantines and social isolation.

We might see a difference in our air quality as a result of the drastic reduction in
automobile traffic, perhaps leading to better public transportation options. And, maybe, just maybe, the light will go on and we will finally do something about universal healthcare.

I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one because God forbid we engage in any kind of
socialism, even though I don’t know anybody who will refuse their government handout
from the stimulus package.

We may have a lingering effect of our trials when this is all said and done and we no
longer have to keep everybody in our thoughts and prayers, but I’m pretty sure it won’t
last.

We’ll be back at it, business as usual, after a short time and pretty much forget all about
COVID-19. Until the next Big Thing, of course.

Some social scientists lament the breakdown of society, but I think if you really study it,
humankind has been pretty much broken from the very beginning. How else do you
explain the eternal wars, racism, and inhumanity we have inflicted upon each other?
Perhaps we have evolved to become stronger, smarter, longer-living beings, but what
about becoming kinder, gentler, more compassionate human beings? Shouldn’t that fit
somewhere into the equation?

It is my deepest wish that we go through this as quickly as possible and that when we
come out on the other side we take a moment to reflect and realize that we are all in this
life together, that we are truly dependent upon each other regardless of where we live,
what we look like, or what we believe in, that instead of building walls we build bridges
so we can reach out to one another, embrace each other, find strength in our
differences as well as in our commonality. We need to find a way to make all of those
jigsaw puzzle pieces that comprise humanity fit, a way to make all of those colors on the
palette complement each other, a way for the hum of our various cultures to find
harmony.

We’ve never experienced anything like this in our lifetime, nothing of this scale or threat.
It’s understandable that people are frightened, angry, confused. But, since we can’t go outside, why not go inside and explore ourselves, find meaning, find purpose?

You know, someday soon, hopefully, we will be done with this social distancing. We will leave our homes, come together, embrace each other and live our lives again. But, will we be changed?

Will we be better? Will we be different?

The optimist in me says when this is over we can be different, we can emerge with a better understanding of “love thy neighbor.”

However, the realist in me says it will be short-lived.

I mean if war, pestilence, famine, and disease cannot change human nature, what can?

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