It’s been about 6 weeks now since we in California realized that this new virus infection, COVID-19, was going to impact our lives in a major way. Since then, we’ve learned new memes like “flatten the curve,” that viruses aren’t really “alive,” how to use Zoom, tips on baking sourdough bread — and how much of sixth grade math we’ve forgotten! But while we’re spending time looking up facts and how-to’s online, a meta/societal level of learning is also going on that transcends our individual Google searching.
I’ve come up with six lessons that are starting to imprint in our collective psyche — social memes that may have a universal impact on our future behavior. These aren’t just “intellectual” learnings — we are grokking them at a deeper, more emotional level. I see most of these as positive, with one significant exception which I will leave to the end.
The first is a deepening awareness of our interconnection and a growing love for the web of life. We recognize that a virus starting from a wild animal in China, traveling to Italy, passing through an airport in New York and zinging all over the globe proves that we are not immune to what happens in any corner of this planet. Sheltering within our homes, we feel the pain of losing connection. We yearn for a hug from our grandchild, to touch a dying sister’s hand, to bring flowers to a friend. We find solace in nature — even if it’s only nature photos on line. We realize that Life is precious — and for a few moments, we’re slowing down to appreciate it.
Secondly, we’re newly aware of the need to plan ahead for future emergencies. A friend who thought her husband crazy a decade ago when he purchased a bucketful of emergency health supplies was so pleased when they opened it to find a dozen N-95 face masks. The erosion of national funding for such supplies makes those of us with earthquake kits in our cars feel somewhat virtuous. And clearly, communities like San Mateo County that are proactively planning for the sea level rise due to climate change are taking the necessary steps to protect their residents and future economy. Climate protection advocates have been raising a clarion call for decades about the urgent need to reduce green house gases, and the parallel with failing to prepare for COVID-19 is only too obvious.
Thirdly, the divisions in our society based on income and race are now frighteningly visible. The statistics are coming in from all corners: African-Americans and Latinx people are disproportionally being infected and dying from the virus. This isn’t due to any inherent biological weakness — but to economic inequality. Stemming from a history of racist policies, people of color have lower income, less family wealth, more stress — and higher rates of mortality from all diseases. Lower income people of color are more likely to live close to freeways and in cities with high air pollution, both of which are risk factors for asthma and catching COVID-19. And we’re all more vividly aware that health insurance — and even sick leave — are only available to those on one side of the income divide. While affluent people have decent health care plans from their employers or Medicare, people in lower income brackets work at “gig” jobs without insurance benefits — or they are undocumented immigrants who pay into the Medicare system, but never receive its benefits. It’s now hard to ignore these statistics — or to create other excuses for them. If we claim to believe in equality of opportunity, it’s clear that we need to address these issues of income inequality — and the underlying racist attitudes behind them.
Fourth, more people are starting to see the value of government as an institution. When we see the efficient, wide-ranging and science-based response of California’s Governor Newsom and the capable experts he has enlisted to handle the COVID emergency, it renews our faith in what a government can accomplish. As the major social organization explicitly set up to work for the common good, it’s heartening to see a government that is wisely directing resources, being proactive about addressing emerging concerns and planning ahead. In comparison with the mendacious and fumbling mistakes of the Trump Administration, it’s refreshing to see a working example of how a government is supposed to act. A corollary is the undeniable value of a working public health system, based on data analysis and scientific inquiry, and how it can capably protect its community needs.
The fifth learning is about how quickly we CAN change! Some of us remember the extraordinary winter of 1989-90, which saw not only the Berlin Wall fall within a few days, but also Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, which led to the overthrow of apartheid in South Africa. Similarly, from the COVID crisis we’re learning that people can change very fast when they see a clear reason for doing so. During the first week of staying-at-home, our whole society was inundated with the phrase “Flatten the curve.” Our amazing ability to spread information can support the motivation for behavior change. For example, an idea like passing a $2 trillion CARES package would have been considered “impossible” by deficit hounds a few years ago. Now it is “what we have to do.” We should now apply this lesson to reduce the impact of climate change. We know we must switch to renewable energy and rebuild our homes, offices and factories to run on clean electricity, rather than dirty fossil fuels. Yes, it will cost money to retrofit all these buildings — but the savings in using free energy from the sun and the wind will pay for the upfront equipment cost in short order. We just need to educate people that a Green New Deal is essential for our health and safety — and for a prosperous future economy. (And it might help if we also remind people that the only real barrier is fossil fuel investors who are only thinking of their short-term profits, rather than the health of this interconnected world in which we all live.)
This brings me to the sixth and final lesson from our experience with COVID-19: the temptation to give in to fear. One obvious fear is catching the virus and dying. This fear makes some call for cutting back on environmental initiatives such as plastic bag bans and other “zero waste” rules that have recently emerged to prevent further devastation of wildlife and ecosystems. At the deepest level, fears of an unknown future lead some people to a hypervigilance that wastes their life energy and constricts their vision of other possibilities. Is it really necessary to wipe canned goods from the store with anti-bacterial wipes that don’t biodegrade? Others, either out of genuine concern or simply blatant self-interest, are leveraging the fear of economic consequences to lobby for excessive subsidies for fossil fuels and other polluting industries. (As just one example, note how Trump quietly removed restrictions on deadly mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants in early April.) With calls for a return to “normal,” some are denying the emerging awareness of our deep interconnection and the evolving new reality.
Without succumbing to fear, our challenge now is to go forward — with courage — incorporating what we are learning. As we look into the future, how will we use these lessons delivered by a lowly virus? Will we forget our deep connection to all beings on the living Earth? Will we fail to address the patterns of inequality that are tearing our society apart? Will we again neglect to plan for the emergencies science tells us are looming on the horizon? With a cautious trust, will we renew a belief that government can act capably and honestly on our behalf — if we invest our energy in participating in democracy ? And can we honestly face the coming challenge of climate change, acting quickly to replace the outmoded technologies and thought patterns that are poisoning our home?
An Eco-System of Ideas 