There’s a certain sleepy sadness on this cloudless Sunday. The streets are hushed. There are people about, and they are wearing masks and behaving as they should. Yet there is a palpable poignancy that reminds us that this is not normal, should not ever be considered normal, and should be remembered always.
People talk in low tones as they walk their dogs, ride their bikes, play catch with their kids. It is as if there is an unspoken agreement: tone it down, lower the volume, respect the virus’ power.
On any other sunny Sunday, leaves in bloom, parkland lush, a bright blue sky with unlimited visibility, there would be the sharp crack of ball against bat, the chatter of soccer players, the high-pitched gleeful scream of the little ones.
But not today.
Today is somber. Parking is plentiful, roads are clear, sidewalks are empty. Soot is gone and parked cars remain clean for days, weeks. There has been no alternate side parking, the bane of the boroughs, and yet the curbs are clear of city detritus: cigarette butts, empty cans, food wrappers.
With masks and gloves have come a semblance of courtesy. Respect. Concern for the well-being of fellow citizens. Calm and quiet has replaced manic energy and cacophony.
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The cavalry is not coming. The good guys don’t always win.
We’re not exactly sure of what a “bootstrap” is anymore, but we sense that we better find them, and soon, and we know that we better start pulling ourselves up by them.
Because we’ve been told a second wave is coming and that it could be worse than the first. Don’t count on a cure. Don’t count on a vaccine. Don’t count on a job. Don’t count on medical coverage.
Which is to say, it’s no wonder that, in 2020, spring fever is cause for concern, not joy.
Which is why, despite the beauty of this glorious Sunday, my interior warning lights flash in bright red: “BRACE YOURSELF!”
Prof. Paul Kennedy observed in his book “The Rise and Fall of Great Powers” that, in decline, great powers in the past often became brittle and collapsed with alarming suddenness. As I think about all that I’ve read about the US recently, I’ve come think that politicians (Republicans) combined and weaponized two major character flaws of the US: racism and anti-intellectualism. It was a Faustian bargain: they gained power at the cost of their souls. Concurrently, corporatism – as outlined in the “Powell Memorandum” – and neoliberalism were rebranded as conservatism to sound reassuring and con a self-Indulgent, poorly educated public. The plague in 14th century Europe upended feudalism. Will the pandemic in concert with climate change produce similarly profound changes?
Yes, you have a really great point. Hopefully we have a new “silent majority” in the U.S. — one that is counting the minutes to righting the ship of state in November. Peace.