Perhaps some saw this coming, but kept their fingers crossed nonetheless, hoping that it would not happen during their lifetimes – a tiny, unknown, virus that would completely disrupt the way they, and everybody else, lives, and perhaps even kill them. It has happened before.
It is beginning to slow down almost all of the activities that are markers of modern human existence. It is slowing them to a crawl. Travel, trade, tourism, educational institutions, the daily work scene, shopping, worship, sports, dining out, other forms of public entertainment, etc.. And some other parts of the world have already had it worse than us in this regard. People have also already died because of the virus.
At this point we are almost completely at the mercy of the new virus. We do not know the end game. We do not know as much as we need to know about the virus itself. We may be able to slow it down by modifying our behaviors, but we cannot stop it. We know that it has the capability to cull the already weak and vulnerable. The virus is, at this point, nature’s great equalizer. It seems to have penetrated all levels of this connected society. It has not discriminated based on privilege, power, and fame.
The virus shows us how vulnerable we really are as a species. Even if it were not this new virus that that is causing this challenge to our systems, it could be some other kind of natural disaster, something outside of our control, that can damage and destroy our systems and our comfort on this planet. Uniquely, this is a disaster that leaves most physical structures untouched. Everything looks fine when it is not.
Of course, we will survive this, but at some as yet unknown cost. And then, within just a few short years, we will forget about all of what just happened, and we will regress, and we will behave stupidly once again, even as nations. That is a given.
Splattered Brains 