Rushing Back to "Normal"

So, I understand pandemic fatigue.

I get why some people are itching to get out of the house and do the things they did before 2020. I get how the air in one’s own home can feel stuffy, how the feeling of loneliness can be overwhelming. I’ve been there, and sometimes I’m still there. These are hard, uncertain times. Few of us were ready for what last year was going to require from us.

And at the same time… am I the only one who isn’t in a rush to go back to “normal”?

As much as I hate this virus and the grief it's caused, and as relieved as I am that so many more people will get to survive this year thanks to scientific advancement and public health measures, I can’t help but wonder if we’re pulling the trigger too quickly.

There’s also the bothersome fact that what we’re trying to get back to was far from perfect anyway.

I hope we don’t forget that “normal” wasn’t exactly great for everybody.

Hopefully we haven’t lost our imaginations. “Normal” isn’t the best we can do. It isn’t the best we’ve got. We have the power to create a future that takes every individual's life into account, one that doesn’t tolerate the far older pandemics of poverty and injustice. When Covid finally ends — whenever that may be — those other illnesses don’t magically get cured. And that’s even more worrisome, since there’s no vaccine for systemic inequity.

I’ll go further into this in another post. For now, just wanted to share some of my thoughts on what everyone seems to be calling the “end” of the pandemic. I don’t think pre-2020 normal is possible anymore, and it may be a grave mistake to try making it so.

In any case, keep breathing.

-D.