Don’t get me wrong, I am taking this emergency seriously. I only leave the house now on essential errands, and I wash my hands scrupulously right after coming home. I am not entirely off the hook when it comes to the pandemic’s impact either. My grandmother, whose health is poor even at the best of times, may very well die if she catches this disease. I fear for the safety of those I know and care about, and I often wonder if I am a ticking time bomb who is already infected and doesn’t know it.
Yet, in spite of this, I confess that I do not feel particularly worried. Indeed, I feel downright chipper at times.
Part of this is undoubtedly due to my introverted nature. Introverts love it when plans that involve going out get cancelled, and they are nearly all cancelled now. Nothing to do but sit back and relax at home. However, this is little comfort to the more extroverted or outdoorsy among us, and they must be feeling rather claustrophobic by now. What else then is there to be happy about?
One silver lining is that most of us are saving a lot of money. Most spending activity for individuals is now confined to grocery shopping and paying bills. Back when I was going to class, eating out was my single greatest expense after rent and textbooks. Now that we are staying home as much as we can, we are all saving a little more.
Reduced travel and economic production also has the benefit of reduced carbon emissions, giving our atmosphere a reprieve. On the day of writing this article, it was actually snowing in Chilliwack, but this is probably coincidence. Hopefully scientists are taking careful note of how this is affecting the climate. Such data could provide valuable fuel (no pun intended) for the argument for reduction in carbon emissions, and a demonstration of what even a moderate decrease could do.
Yet in spite of these fringe benefits of the pandemic itself, it is still a terrible thing on the whole. I want it to be over soon, and before it does too much damage, just like anybody. What really has me excited is the prospect of what comes after.
For the first time in a very long while, I get the sense that the world has dramatically and irreversibly changed. Business as usual is no longer an option. We cannot pretend this crisis does not apply to us, no matter where you live or how rich and powerful you are. The near and present threat of mortality has a tendency to make one re-examine one’s life and what they are doing with it. The events of 2020 will shape world events for a long time to come, and I find that both fascinating and encouraging. A world of possibilities is opening up before us.
At the beginning of this year, any hopes we may have harboured of a decade better than the last were dashed in less than a week by news of the U.S. drone assassination in Iran, the massive wildfires in Australia, and (what turned out to be most significant) the first reports of the COVID-19 outbreak in China. It seemed like the world was stuck in a rut, trapped in a downward spiral we could not escape. Yet now, I feel some of that short-lived hope returning. The pandemic has exposed many deep-seated flaws in our society, such as the fragility of our production and supply networks, and has thrown economic injustices into stark relief. Hopefully, we will use this crisis as a motivation to action, and both individuals and governments will make the necessary positive changes that we have been putting off for far too long.
Perhaps the pandemic has gotten the worst it will ever get, or perhaps the worst is yet to come, but it will end sooner or later. When it has, I hope we can all make the most of this unique historical opportunity that has been thrust upon us. Great sorrow and disruption are being caused by this disaster, but I hope that we can all rise from the ashes stronger and wiser than we were before.
Whether we will actually do this remains to be seen, but right now, I feel that we very well might. It is a good feeling, and I intend to enjoy it while it lasts.
