Why the 2020 Pandemic Gives Me Hope
I would not consider myself a forward-thinking or overly optimistic person. I try to live in the now and address things as they come; if anything, I tend to look to the past to understand circumstances. Maintaining perspective on reality is also something I work to be intentional about.
And yet, during all of this uncertainty and limbo, I find myself feeling hope more than any other emotion.
I was at college three weeks to the day when 9/11 happened; practically my entire adulthood has been in the shadow of that world-changing event. And while I see cities, states, and organizations come together for tornadoes, hurricanes, etc., I haven’t seen this sense of global community since that event 18 years ago. And that gives me hope.
Regardless of political beliefs, I think we can all acknowledge that headlines have been rough for the last several years. Global warming is becoming increasingly more evident. Prejudice and xenophobia still exist both systemically and among individuals. Refugees across the planet continue to risk their lives in the hope of providing safety for their families. More and more it seems that beliefs are supposed to be black and white, leaving no room for gray; I’m right, you’re wrong – end of conversation. But I have hope.
As we have become more addicted to our screens, research has confirmed the impact that constant distraction has on both adults and children and their ability to be creative. If we never have down time, when will we ponder the what-ifs? What great inventions and mental shifts are being sacrificed to a constant connection to email, social media, and texting? But right now there is hope.
Society, both in America and around the world, will be greatly altered from this pandemic. When we are all able to emerge from isolation and be physically present in our communities, I believe there will be some altered mindsets. Of that I have great hope.
We are having the broken parts of our government and culture shoved in our faces. Presently the hourly workers are our heroes. The gaps that exist in our country’s health care system, the rights that workers should have to be sick at home, the concept of a living wage – these are all at the forefront of conversations. From this I gain hope.
Parents have now been tasked with educating their children at home as school systems figure out how to address indefinite closures. Suddenly moms and dads from coast to coast have a new appreciation for teachers in a culture that has continually undermined them over the last generation. The idea of renewed respect makes me hope.
Finally, family dynamics have been radically altered the last week+. The Rat Race has been slowed. Parents are home more. Without extra-curricular activities every day, kids are home more – being kids. As I’ve walked in my neighborhood the past several days I’ve seen people out playing, riding bikes, and taking walks in numbers I haven’t seen in the dozen years I’ve lived here. If this can be maintained to some extent, there are many areas of society that will benefit. In this I find much hope.
Feel what you are feeling. It’s important to acknowledge that. But let me also encourage you to see hope in these tumultuous times. Make time to get outside, get off your screens, reconnect with family, and help your community (from the appropriate distance). It’s almost like we are getting a chance to turn society off and back on and see if it gets the glitches out. I believe that’s something in which we can all find hope.
