COVID and Times of Crisis

Life Not-Exactly Under Lockdown

Well, it’s been quite the week. I know my life has been turned topsy-turvy, and it’s probably been less affected than yours. I still work normal hours, but the gym is closed, the grocery stores are crazy, and everyone is constantly squirting hand sanitizer. Those of us in my apartment complex who still go to work are involved in a continuous game of musical chairs for the few unoccupied parking spots.

I know many people who are worried about the coronavirus. I know more people who are worried about the economy in general and small businesses specifically. I don’t know where this is headed or how we’ll all be impacted. But there are a few things I do know. Before we take stock of what we have, though, let’s get an idea of what we’ve lost.

What we’ve Lost

A few weeks ago, I spoke with a friend of mine in Singapore, which was already in lockdown. She asked how we were dealing with the Coronavirus, and I told her: it was a minor news item. No one was paying much attention to it. Sure, we’d heard of it. It was spreading, and people were quarantined. But all that was over there. And as the weeks went by, it continued to be over there, over there – until all of a sudden, it was over here.

I watched in disbelief as life went from normal to crisis mode. Everyone declared a state of emergency. The whole country shut down. I wouldn’t have thought it possible. I thought 2019 was a crazy year, but I guess it’s just a crazy world: shootings, hurricanes, explosions, and now pandemics. I didn’t have to deploy to find chaos and danger; they’ve come to me.

Over There

On further reflection, I suppose it always works like this. Coronavirus was over there until people started dying here. Terrorism was over there until 9-11. Political assassinations were over there until MLK and Kennedy. WWII was over there until Pearl Harbor. We always seem to be caught off-guard. Why? The answer is always complicated; it involves facts, figures, models, and countless variables. But I begin to think that under all that complication lies one very simple, very unjustified assumption: things like that can’t happen here.

Except that they can. And they have. And now we have to figure out what sort of people we will be in the face of that.

Human beings have not changed in the last however-many-thousand years. When we suddenly don’t have ready access to food or water or security, we discover we have the same threats, fears, and savagery inside us our ancestors did. There is no over there or back then. Under pressure, all men, regardless of time or place, stand equal.

What we Have

What we have lost, then, is only a false sense of security – one we will doubtless regain when the crisis passes. Until then, we have a chance to see the world we live in for the insecure and transient place it is. We have a chance to see ourselves as we truly are: fragile, selfish, not-terribly-rational creatures just trying to get along as best we can. Finally, we have a chance to act on that knowledge.

You can’t test the seaworthiness of a ship by leaving it in drydock. You can’t test a man’s character by making him comfortable. Only in a world of uncertainty can there be faith; only in a world of crisis can there be heroism. Only in a world of danger can there be salvation. Only in a world of limitation can there be sacrifice. Only in a world of suffering can there be hope. This is our chance, our chance to grab hold of these things and not let go. Let us not miss it. Let us be heroes in a time that needs heroes.

How then Should we Live?

One last thought. The stories of the Bible – of heroes and giants, lions’ dens and fire from the sky – would be ludicrous if history were methodical and sedate and kind. But while history books may be like this, history most definitely isn’t – as we realize when we find ourselves suddenly living it. The Bible says that Noah’s flood came just like this virus – people thought judgment was over there until suddenly it was upon them. It says the same thing will happen in the last days; we will always be caught off-guard.

What manner of people, then, ought we to be?

photo from cdc.gov