Well, it’s an interesting time. We all knew there was going to be a pandemic someday. That day is now here.
As Niagara shuts down and the challenges mount, we are being asked to be socially responsible and avoid unnecessary contact with other people. This “social distancing” should help reduce and slow the transmission of coronavirus. The idea of “flattening the curve” of infection isn’t new and if it works, our public healthcare system should be able to weather the storm and handle the volume of patients needing treatment for coronavirus symptoms.
Of course this isn’t easy. All kinds of businesses are being affected and with that, there’s an effect on people. We’re naturally a social bunch, we humans. Forcing people to stay away from each other is a challenge but it’s something worth doing for the greater good.
We don’t hear a lot about that concept on an average day. The greater good is something we aspire to but rarely do we see results. It’s going to be that way as well if we all do our part and largely self-isolate for the next few weeks. Our actions will potentially reduce or eliminate the spread of coronavirus and many thousands of our friends, co-workers, and neighbours won’t get sick. Humans are bad at noticing when things DON’T happen.
If this pandemic passes and Canada escapes relatively unscathed, critics will say that it wasn’t that serious in the first place and all the measures we’re taking now weren’t necessary. Except of course that they are, right now.
Let’s be socially responsible. We can adapt to this state of affairs. It’s our “new normal”, for the time being.
Of course, wouldn’t it be nice if doing things for the greater good became the new normal going forward?
Could it be that this experience will lead us towards a more caring, empathetic, connected, and sustainable society?
Here’s hoping that’s the silver lining that comes out of the pandemic cloud.