It has been almost a year since COVID-19 stopped the world. Everyone has been affected, to a degree ranging from not-so-to-deeply to tragic. In March 2020, a few weeks after the pandemic, I wrote an opinion piece for CNN where I advanced some ideas about what changes might take place due to the challenges ahead. Now that we are getting into this mess and with the growing hope of getting out of it in the coming months, it is time to reconsider some of these ideas.
First, some facts.
This is the greatest existential threat of our generation. We did not face the tragedy of two world wars, and so far we have escaped the continuing threat of nuclear war. It is important to compare the tragedy we are experiencing now with the devastation of the Spanish flu of 1918, with figures that seem almost incomprehensible. An estimated 500 million people, about a third of the world’s population, were infected with the virus. Of these, 50 million — 10 percent — died worldwide, 675,000 of whom were in the United States. In current numbers, this would mean that approximately 2.4 billion people would be infected and 240 million would die. At the time of writing, there were approximately 109 million confirmed infections (probably an underestimation) and 2.4 million deaths. While the numbers are much better around the world this time around, this data doesn’t make us feel any better. We are approaching half a million deaths in the US, another incomprehensible number, getting closer to the number of American losses during the Spanish flu. Denial, lack of federal leadership, top-down silence of scientific evidence and support, complacency, denial of science, are all to blame.
Science is essential.
A global pandemic of this magnitude is, above all, a public health problem and the first line of defense is science and public policy working in tandem. The fact that we are comparing ourselves better than in 1918 speaks to the power of life-saving medicine: ventilators, antiviral drugs, better sanitation, better understanding of how this virus works. The figures could have been much better if health policy measures had not been politically armed and added to the current ideological divide with tragic consequences. The fact that we now have extremely effective vaccines, some using completely new technologies, speaks again to the power of science to save lives. This is a time to celebrate science in the service of the greatest good of mankind.
We need to rethink who we are.
The Earth has existed for 4.5 billion years; our species, homo sapiens, has existed for about 200,000 years.
Credit: desdemona72 via Adobe Stock
The pandemic has exposed our perennial fragility as a species. Nature operates under rules that do not include compassion for the loss of lives. We are not above nature. Technology can give us the impression that we can control the ways of the world, but we are still very much part of the natural selection process, we get sick as mutant forms of this virus and others create new public health challenges. Natural selection is an endless battle to survive. We can’t fool him at a permanent stop, only at momentary stops. In fact, as the environment changes, new ways of life appear and not all of them will benefit us. The thawing of permafrost causes diseases that affect our distant ancestors and against which we are helpless. Rethinking who we are requires humility. Humility in the face of our limited resources, humility in the face of forces far more powerful than us. We can dig deep holes and tunnels through the mountains, cut down forests and push back the oceans. But all these actions have a profound environmental impact that costs us a lot. Rethinking who we are requires a rethinking of our relationship with the planet. The Earth has existed for 4.5 billion years; our species, Homo sapiens, has existed for about 200,000 years. We just got here. The Earth will continue without us. We can’t continue without her, despite space exploration. The future of our project of civilization depends on rethinking our planetary role.
We are a human hive.
The pandemic has provided us with ample proof of our codependence. We need each other at all levels; the first to respond, the farmers and drivers, the supermarket workers who brought food to our tables. It is said that the stability of society is at nine meals. If we don’t eat for 3 days, society crumbles. And we need energy, supplies, banking systems, clear roads, clean cities, political stability, news and fast internet. In a hive, all workers contribute to the survival of the hive as a whole, every job is important. We are a human hive and we must respect all the workforce and ensure that all workers are adequately compensated. Living with dignity is not a luxury, it is a right.
We need to rethink our social structure and inequality.
The unequal toll of the pandemic has exposed systemic racism and social injustice to levels that can no longer be tolerated or ignored by anyone and certainly by those in power. Because at least the origins of agrarian civilization, our ancestors were divided into tribes in order to ensure social cohesion against struggling economies. Defined primarily by religious beliefs and social exclusion, these tribal walls have been the beacon of cultures around the world. We now have a different view of the place of humanity on this planet, our union exposed to us in ways that many do not like. A virus doesn’t care what you think, the color of your skin, or the money you have in the bank. It will attack opportunistically and hijack cellular material to reproduce it. But the extent to which people can protect themselves against these attacks reveals social inequalities in a transparent manner. If you share an apartment with eight people and you have to go to work every day, taking public transport to get there, you will enter the war zone without weapons or shelters.
We need to rethink how we work.
With fast Internet, it is clear that much of the dislocations to or from work, or frequent trips to distant places for meetings, are unnecessary, costly, and harmful to the environment. Huge expenses with commercial real estate can be avoided and result in higher compensation for workers and better computer and connectivity equipment. The notion of a city center where people are going to do business is fast becoming obsolete. The trips will be mostly for fun and adventure. However, for this to become the new normal, fast connectivity and better equipment must be accessible to everyone, such as electricity and clean water (there is still work to be done safely.) If not, we will create a another tribal division (it’s here already), between those who have quick access to information and resources and those who don’t.
The Black Death of the fourteenth century helped start the Renaissance, a spectacular flowering of human creativity. The Spanish flu was followed by the Roaring Twenties, an era of explosive cultural dynamism that brought us jazz, Art Deco and a renewal of our ability to celebrate life and be productive: cars, telephones, aviation, the film industry, appliances, rapid industrial growth. What will be our post-pandemic revolution? The ancient roads are about to go; and van. There is a new world order emerging, signs are everywhere. Not everyone is willing to see them or embark on this new adventure. But I hope whoever does it inspires many to follow them. All this loss must turn and introduce a new page in the history of mankind.