One thing that will come out of all of this COVID-19 pandemic is the realization that almost no systems in place were designed or prepared for a time such as this. I mean, from schools to safety net programs run by government agencies to our healthcare system, everyone had to jump right in and hope from the best.
Talk about trial and error, eh!
Heck, for the first time in almost four years, West Virginians have the opportunity to see their governor daily, which is something that none of us are used to seeing.
So, what will change the most when this is over? Who knows, but I am pretty sure that we’ll have a brand new normal. Someone was telling me yesterday to think of the ways this has affected local restaurant owners, especially those who weren’t very familiar with take-out and online ordering. Everyone has had to adjust their sails in order to survive, and that includes families.
Large Crowds?
Last evening, I was thinking about how badly I would hate to go into large crowds when this was over. What’s that going to be like? Will we start to prefer intimate hangouts over large ones?
I think one of the biggest mistakes was to pretend that we could just plow through this new reality without giving any space to the fact that we didn’t know exactly how things would – could – work because we’d never had to do this before. I’ve heard and read a lot of thoughts about the importance of maintaining and adhering to routine, but let’s face it, folks, this isn’t something that we’ve ever had to do and maybe, just maybe, we should have allowed ourselves at least a week to figure it out. It seems like we went straight from hearing about it on the news from the West Coast to being yelled at by our online communities about how we needed to stay at home and practice social distancing.
I’m going to be honest with you. I like this social distancing stuff. I mean, my calendar has been cleared indefinitely, and I’m not hating it. Granted, my boss was ahead of the curve and insisted that all of us cancel face-to-face meetings because she had been out of the state and had heard it was coming, which allowed me to not get whiplash from canceling meetings and events quickly. But I’m not hating this. I mean, I’m able to wear pants with elastic waists every day of the week right now without fear or explanation! This doesn’t even feel like real life anymore.
Wage Decrease?
And the beautiful part of it for me professionally is that we’re ramping up to be a country that demands change, which is exactly what I’m in the business of organizing. I have this image in my head of us standing as a country at a crossroads when this is over. We can choose to allow life to go on as always or we can point out what has been pointed out by the government and not stop until we have a better quality of life. I mean, how’s it going to feel to these essential employees when the pandemic is over and those raises are rescinded?
Is someone going to be satisfied with going from $12/hour back down to $10? Are we going to continue to be OK with health insurance that doesn’t allow us to be seen when we need to or to receive the medications we need because we can’t afford it? Are we going to pay attention to the fact that too many Americans are without health insurance? I mean, just think about the fact that the government isn’t charging for COVID-19 tests; they know that the lack of insurance would be detrimental to us as a country.
This is probably going to be our best chance at making needed changes. We have been shown that it’s the working class that has kept the country running, so is the working class going to be OK with being told that they’re non-essential and unworthy of a living wage? When has there been a better time for low-wage workers to demand a state Earned Income Tax Credit? Yeah, the time is coming.
Remember When?
We’re seeing folks applying for government assistance programs now who haven’t had that need before because of unemployment because of the virus. Suddenly we’re relying on the safety net more than ever, so are we going to remember what it was like to need it when the next batch of cuts are proposed?
It truly is up to us as to what we accept and what we don’t. There’s never been a better time to #RattleTheWindows and that makes me excited and grateful for this upcoming opportunity. The entire country has been forced to wake up and take notice of their neighbors and their community’s needs.
So when this is over and we’re searching for our new normal, I hope that we’ll make social justice a huge part of it. But in the meantime …
Wash your hands. Don’t touch your face. Stay well.
Onward,
Amy Jo
