The world has been turned on its head in the last two months. As someone who has been accused of hyperbole and extreme opinions I shouldn’t find it hard to put into words what has happened and is going to happen in the world soon, but I will find it hard because this situation is unprecedented, therefore indescribable.
Everything we have learnt to take for granted, for good or bad, has been scrapped. We cannot be with people. We cannot shop, work, worship, study, eat or talk in groups. Our world of commerce has collapsed. Governments and banks are having to find money to support billions of unemployed people for an indefinite period. Hospitals are overstretched. Many have died. Many more will die. Very many have been ill and might suffer the consequences for a very long time. Everyone is afraid.
Some good things have happened. The air is cleaner, the roads are quieter, cities are less crowded, animals and birds are more relaxed. We all have more time to be at home with family. But if you live alone, have a health problem, have a mental condition of any sort, have no money, live in a third world country, used to have a business, have children, have an abusive relationship, are stranded abroad, have lost a loved one or are suffering from the virus yourself, it is not good.
And if you start to think about the specifics, your heart sinks. The new business which is still-born after a lot of effort and cash has been sunk into it, only to have its launchpad removed from under its feet. The kids who won’t go to university this year, meaning universities will struggle, meaning cities will struggle and people will lose jobs and spend less and businesses will do worse and everyone will be worse off. The people who can’t go on holiday this summer, meaning that the transportation companies will go broke, the hotels will close, the host countries like Spain will suffer, our food chain will be affected, food prices will go up, people will have less money to spend and we’ll all be worse off. There are many, many scenarios. Most of them too dire to even start to describe.
What are we going to do?
Everything we have learnt to take for granted, for good or bad, has been scrapped. We cannot be with people. We cannot shop, work, worship, study, eat or talk in groups. Our world of commerce has collapsed. Governments and banks are having to find money to support billions of unemployed people for an indefinite period. Hospitals are overstretched. Many have died. Many more will die. Very many have been ill and might suffer the consequences for a very long time. Everyone is afraid.
Some good things have happened. The air is cleaner, the roads are quieter, cities are less crowded, animals and birds are more relaxed. We all have more time to be at home with family. But if you live alone, have a health problem, have a mental condition of any sort, have no money, live in a third world country, used to have a business, have children, have an abusive relationship, are stranded abroad, have lost a loved one or are suffering from the virus yourself, it is not good.
And if you start to think about the specifics, your heart sinks. The new business which is still-born after a lot of effort and cash has been sunk into it, only to have its launchpad removed from under its feet. The kids who won’t go to university this year, meaning universities will struggle, meaning cities will struggle and people will lose jobs and spend less and businesses will do worse and everyone will be worse off. The people who can’t go on holiday this summer, meaning that the transportation companies will go broke, the hotels will close, the host countries like Spain will suffer, our food chain will be affected, food prices will go up, people will have less money to spend and we’ll all be worse off. There are many, many scenarios. Most of them too dire to even start to describe.
What are we going to do?
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