It isn't really true that eras begin or end with specific events, that cultural trends have a single ignition point, but it does feel that way and as we go through the current generation defining event I can't help thinking of 9/11/2001.
As I make my rounds delivering pizza I listen to lots of sports radio because people talking helps me stay alert and if I listen to the news I might hear the president talk and I just can't deal with that. Right now there isn't a lot of sports to talk about as you might imagine so the topics get pretty varied, but most of the hosts talk about 9/11 as the closest thing to this that they can remember.
I think maybe that is true, but the biggest difference I think is how our culture reacts to it. The day after 9/11 hit I knew, KNEW, that we were going to go to war, it felt as inevitable as the sunrise. As the months went by even my ignorant teenage ass heard more and more rhetoric of fear and hate. We then went to war, and the recession also hit soon after. It felt like 9/11 kicked off a cultural trend of just being horrible.
Maybe that was due to the boomers and Gen-X being the main adult cohorts at the time, combining xenophobic arrogance with a complete unwillingness to care about anything, I don't know, but I think at this point we can all agree it sucked and continues to do so.
This feels different, we are still in early days of the pandemic yet, and odds are will have to be making adjustments to avoid an incomprehensible tragedy for over a year still, but I feel optimistic despite all that.
We are self isolating out of necessity, but are coming together anyway in ways that I think we have maybe forgotten about for a long time.
Your pizza delivery guy sees and hears more than you think, and while I know my experience is limited to a single section of one small, not super diverse city, I am seeing a lot of people helping. I'm not talking about buying groceries, donations, or things like that, though of course that is happening. It is small things.
Yesterday I took a delivery to a nursing home, their usual dinner caterer bailed on them so they called Domino's instead. I gathered that the usual procedure was for the caterer to set the food up in the dining area and then deliver directly to the rooms of those who were unable to attend, but since this whole thing has started I instead had to deliver to 25 different units spread over five floors, it was a not our usual procedure and it took forever. But everywhere I went in the building I ran into people who would help. Some folks were too impaired to open their doors, but inevitably there would be a friend nearby who could let me in, sometimes people wouldn't answer the door, but there was always someone else around who new where they were and if they were coming back. They were concerned about me too, asking if I was getting a tip, or if I was being safe on the road and so on.
I see it on the other trips too, neighbors and travelers alike are noticing each other, sure much of that is about keeping an eye on folks to maintain distancing, but they aren't just leaving it at that. I hear strangers checking in on each others, neighbors talking across property lines, I get asked, genuinely, if I am doing well, we are forming networks at the micro level to help.
On the macro of course things are also trending in that way, leaving aside the stock market for the moment, because nothing good or moral comes from it, there are a number of grass roots organizations forming to support those hit by the crisis, companies are finding new ways to screw their employees yes, but others are finding ways to support them and to help vulnerable populations through the crisis.
There is a serious chance that Universal Basic Income and some form of healthcare for all gets passed nationally, and soon. And while these programs are surely intended to be temporary, and they are likely to be flawed in many ways, this crisis is going to take months or even years to pass and once we have time to get used to having it I fear that we are going to be extremely unwilling to give it up, especially as it proves that yes, we can afford to take care of every citizen and the economy won't collapse, indeed, the economy has begun to collapse as soon as a crisis hit that proved we can't take care of everyone with how things are currently!
So I am optimistic that after this is over we will be better than before, we will be in the habit of caring for each other and used to being cared for in turn. Now is the time to form those habits, to help and accept help. Everything we do now saves lives and forms the world we want to have post crises. It's an opportunity we can't pass up.
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