“We don’t get to choose when we were born. We don’t choose what natural disasters, epidemiological emergencies, stock market crashes, tyrannical regimes, or wars our generations face. We only get to choose how we react. We can use it as a way to pour our energy back into the world. If you care about history, keep a journal. Future historians will want to know about what it was like to live through this time. If you are a political activist, document the lies. Journalists will need our informed attention. If you love literature, write. If you are an artist, make art. Make art filled with whatever you have, even if that art comes from anguish. This guy (I held up my Shakespeare book) wrote through the plague. What will you write?” — Wendy Beth Hyman, March 11, 2020.
So here it goes. Today I write in American Typewriter font. Why? because I am American and as it stands today, this fact separates me from the concerns of the rest of the world, or so we thought. The concept of “Isolationism” is not a new one. It dates all the way back to colonial times. At that time anyone arriving to the new world was fleeing some sort of persecution, be it religious economic, or war. Most anyone coming here was attempting to disengage from the miseries that affected Europe and the rest of the world. The voyage to the Americas itself was both long and arduous and quite often entailed sickness and death. Americans have long embraced the idea of “We came here to get away from all that” as it applied to our relationship with Europe. This belief delayed our entry into the Great War, which actually worked out for us, and we only entered World War 2 because our existence was directly threatened.
But a virus poses a problem. We cannot simply choose to isolate our country and believe that we are safe. It is insidious, invisible and we cannot simply build a wall and proclaim our disengagement from it. Perhaps it is a time for all of us to recognize that we too have a responsibility to the world. To turn our back on others is wrong. Deitrich Bonhoeffer once said Not to Speak, Is to Speak, Not to Act, Is to Act. When we ignore wrong, we in effect act on behalf of it. Strong terms, but true. Moving on, we as Americans have learned a new term. It is called Social Distancing.
My life was pretty busy up until Friday. Between work and school, I was present at five libraries last week. I completed two midterms and verbally presented a research project where I spoke on the topic of “Moses and the Book of Exodus” as it appears in the Torah, Bible and Qur’an. I complained all week that I was feeling overwhelmed, but I loved it. Then Friday, it all came to a grinding halt. I laid around the house all day Saturday and Sunday just thinking about stuff. My entire life I have jumped from project to project, job to job, and even gender to gender. When I was little my mom used to scream “Anthony can’t you ever just stick to one thing? You are going to give me apoplexy!” I always was occupied or preoccupied. And then I wasn’t.
When I heard the term “Social Distancing”, I first thought, omg I can’t go out on a date. I can’t hug and kiss anyone. What am I going to do? It took a minute or two for me to ask myself, when was the last time I did either of those things anyway. Ten years was the answer. Ten years. The last person I kissed on the lips was Irina and that was 10 years ago. Had I known then what I know now, I would have held that kiss a little longer and appreciated it a little more. I think now that I even would have cried. Is that not the way life goes though? We miss an opportunity or lose a moment because we didn’t take the time to appreciate it, in its own time.
So, in some ways I was socially distant already. What’s the big deal? The big deal is, that now I am home, alone with my thoughts and regrets and mistakes and it is nothing short of frightening. In many respects, the same is true of America. We are now being attacked on our own soil, by an invisible enemy. Will this be over in two weeks? It’s doubtful. Weddings, showers, Proms Graduations, Communions, Church services all cancelled. Brick and Mortar shopping establishments empty. What does the future hold for us? I don’t know, but now as a country we have to engage with the rest of the world in order to combat this virus. Who do we blame? And Is it important? Well I guess we can start with the current Government Administration, and Yes, it is important. The contempt, the dishonesty, the lack of respect for the planet, and other human beings, the disregard of our laws has in some way all contributed to this situation. President Trump literally fired the Center for Disease Control’s Pandemic Response Team. Why would anyone who cared about people do something like that? There is just not a logical justification for it.
So now we sit here, in our homes. Last week my neighbors were complaining about people walking their dogs and then throwing a dirty poop bag into their garbage. This week, that issue, is not quite as important.
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