it

It hit out of nowhere. Or, that is how it felt, anyway. Like an asteroid that had suddenly collided with the earth. Fast. Dangerous. Merciless. Relentless. Deadly. Only, just like an asteroid, it was obviously coming, everyone could actually see it, if they had looked they would have seen it as it was massive and impossible to ignore, but they chose to turn a blind eye. They claimed the sun’s light was obscuring their vision, that they were inside when it happened, that no one had told them, any and every excuse they could grab at. Any way they could find to shun responsibility. When, if they had all just paid attention things would have gone so differently. But now, there is nothing that can be done, mistakes have already been made. All we can do is move forward. But, as we are still living in it, we can at least look back and go over how it all went down, we can try to understand what happened, what went wrong, how we could have done better…

”Everybody knows that pestilences have a way of recurring in the world,

yet somehow we find it hard to believe in ones that crash down on our heads

from a blue sky. There have been as many plagues as wars in history,

yet always plagues and wars take people equally by surprise.”

---

Social media had been abuzz about it for weeks. A new sickness that had hit, but it was not near us so everyone was mostly making jokes about it. It was a far away, distant thing. Not our problem to deal with, it is happening on the other side of the world so it could not possibly bother us, people said. So no one took it seriously. That is, until everyone realized how serious it actually was. People started to suffer various symptoms. Fever. Headache. Cough. Sore throat. Loss of sense of smell and taste. Nausea. Difficulty breathing. There were a lot of different symptoms, which only led to more confusion. One person had trouble breathing, another person had a fever and cough, another could not taste or smell, so what was really happening? Maybe it was just a series of different colds? Probably nothing to worry about, people said, and went on living their lives still ignoring or laughing about the it far off in a distant land. Man, they laughed, sucks for those people but hey at least it is not here with us. Better them than us was the mentality. “We tell ourselves that pestilence is a mere bogy of the mind, a bad dream that will pass away. But it doesn't always pass away and, from one bad dream to another, it is men who pass away.” Then, it got a name and a status as being here. Not off in some distant land anymore, it was now here. While we had all looked away, feigned obliviousness, or laughed, it had snuck right in. Still nothing to worry about, though, and still people brushed it to the side. After all, it was not even that bad, and only some people had it, so the jokes continued, until it was suddenly everywhere. “Many continued hoping that the epidemic would soon die out and they and their families be spared. Thus they felt under no obligation to make any change in their habits, as yet. Plague was an unwelcome visitant, bound to take its leave one day as unexpectedly as it had come.” Like a child who goes ignored for too long, it exploded like it desperately needed attention and was furious it had been denied for so long. It was past the point of understanding and forgiveness and so it exploded with anger and vengeance.

Schools suddenly shut down. In the middle of my school day my professor was lecturing on the novel The Plague when a chorus of buzzes and dings rang through the room as what was written on the pages of this book jumped to life. Life has a funny way of imitating art, as the saying goes, and that is exactly what life did. The students and professor all looked around in confusion and shuffles of paper and feet resounded throughout the room as they resigned to pack up and head home. The professor saying, well, I’ll send an email out with your last assignment on this book and we’ll figure the rest out when we come back soon. All of them believing, as the email from the school had implied, this would last a day or two, maybe a week tops. Students shuffling out excitedly thinking, heck yeah, free break! They raced across campus, not sparing a single glance for the school as they thought they would be back oh so soon. Little did they know that this was the last they would see of their school for months, perhaps a year, perhaps more. As the realization that school would be closed for longer than a few days or weeks dawned, other changes happened rapidly. Entire malls closed. Businesses closed. People lost their jobs. Everyone was ordered to shelter at home. We were so unbelievably prepared and still struggling to believe this thing we had laughed about and thought of as a distant far off problem that could never affect us had so suddenly come in and made fools of us all. “The local population, who so far had made a point of masking their anxiety by facetious comments, now seemed tongue-tied and went their ways with gloomy faces.”

Rumors and fear started swirling around madly. What was it? How had it spread so fast? What do we know about it? Was it dangerous? How do we protect ourselves from it? Do I have it? It was no longer a distant, disconnected thing, it had arrived, and it was here to stay. “Nobody as yet had really acknowledged to himself what the disease connoted. Most people were chiefly aware of what ruffled the normal tenor of their lives or affected their interests.” Turning a blind eye was no longer an option, the options now were one, acceptance, or two, calling it a hoax. Everything was chaos and confusion. No one knew how to act or what to do. Top scientists saying, this is very new to us and we are doing all we can to adjust and learn but there is still so much we do not know about it. The world had stopped in many ways, but at the same time it was moving far too rapidly as the virus continued spreading like a fire that would not stop on a relentless path to claiming lives. Everything was frozen and slow, but at the same time it was claiming lives left and right while we all looked around trying to understand what was happening and how it had snuck up on us so fast.

Just stay home for a few weeks and if you absolutely must go outside, wear your mask at all times and everything will be okay. Okay, a solid plan, and even though much was still unknown about it, some relief as we at least had somewhat of a plan now. One month later, and it is only getting worse. Another month and there is still so much unknown. Three months. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight months of this and it is still going strong. The president, who is supposed to lead, continuously calling it a hoax and racistly deeming it the “chinese virus.” The president ridiculing those who wear masks whilst holding indoor rallies where no one present follows the guidelines and no one wears a mask. The president once again saying science and fact are jokes and laughing at some of the greatest, most intelligent minds in the world saying masks are important and it is dangerous and cannot be ignored. The president taking an already divided and confused world and making things that much worse. The president saying we need not fear it because most people heal from it. The president ignoring the fact that while most people heal from it many people are still dying because of it. The president not understanding the importance of compassion, kindness, and caring for your fellow human beings. Division, suffering, loneliness, pain, loss, and death with no end in sight. “This here damned disease—even them who haven’t got it can’t think of anything else.” Everyone saying things will go back to normal soon, but what is normal anymore if not this? This is the new normal. It is here and no matter what it will mark and change everything forever. There is no return to the old normal, the new normal will evolve from and be shaped by it.

And so, at some point, most people come to realize this fact, and so we begin to adapt to it. This is a slow process, learning to adjust to it, but we have been slowly learning, and we are still learning. The realization sinks in that it is here to stay and it will definitely still be here for at least a year to come and either way the presence or aftermath of it will continue to affect us all. Some other parts of the world have dealt with it quickly and efficiently, while us, well, we are constantly on an up and down roller coaster of it somewhat subsiding and so restrictions loosen up only for it to spike up and get so much worse than it was. “The epidemic seemed to be on the wane; on some days only ten or so deaths were notified. Then, all of a sudden, the figure shot up again, vertically.” There seems to be a correlation there, between losing restrictions and mounting deaths, but the higher ups refuse to see any. All they see are numbers, but only when those numbers are next to a dollar sign. If those numbers are next to scientific facts and evidence, well, obviously those are lies. If they see a six figure number they think money and when they are told that is the death toll, that is the number of lives claimed in some shape or form because of it, well, they brush this aside. These politicians continue scrambling around madly and aimlessly, stuck going around in the same ineffective rapid circle over and over like a fan that is never turned off, saying these are the new rules, wait no, these are, wait no, it's actually these, no actually let's go back to the first ones, all whilst behaving as though these they are above the rules and they do not apply to them.

Months ago when places started closing and its presence was fully realized as being here, we all were fearful but positive it would be nothing more than a small, temporary problem. A minor, uncomfortable inconvenience that would definitely be gone in a week or two. A small storm cloud that would intermittently rain down on us for a few days then proceed to pass. We put up our umbrellas by putting on our masks as we waited for it to pass. The masks would help protect us and others from the storm. Minor discomfort we could all handle whilst waiting for it to leave. Only, it did not leave, and this minor discomfort has turned into a burden and infringement on rights for many. Many people now believe they should not have to wear masks. They say it will not hurt them so why should they have to wear a mask? Your health, your problem, they say. They spew their angry words saying, masks are a control tactic, masks are stupid, masks don’t do anything, why should I have to wear a mask to protect your health, it’s not my problem. The true cruelty and lack of compassion for their fellow human beings is being illuminated because of it. “It revealed itself as what it really was; that is, the concern of all.” I do not understand these people one bit. What is so bad about wearing a mask? I will never get how they can think and act the way they do. I suppose the president, the supposed leader of the people, backing them up makes this thought process a lot easier for them though. “I’m concerned with man’s health; and for me his health comes first.” But I think mild discomfort is a small price to pay when people's lives are on the line and your wearing a mask could be the difference between someone living and dying. "There's no question of heroism in all this. It's a matter of common decency. That's an idea which may make some people smile, but the only means of fighting a plague is — common decency."

The world is a mess. In a constant state of chaos and change. And people are constantly confused and left behind. We do not know where to look, what to listen to, how to act. We are proving to be helpless and indecisive under the pressure and we are breaking. If this were some grand test, we would be failing. And it actually is a test with a much worse penalty than a bad grade--lives are being lost because of heartlessness and incompetence. We are in a dark place now, and unless things change, the way we are handling it will push us down a path we cannot come back from.

"We can't stir a finger in this world without the risk of

bringing death to somebody. Yes, I've been ashamed ever since;

I have realized that we all have plague, and I have lost my peace.”