Back to Normal
I get the biggest laugh from all of these people who keep saying that when the Coronavirus, (Covid-19) is over, then everything will get back to normal. We even have someone, no less then the President of the United States, proclaiming that first of all, there was no problem, then that everything will be back to normal in two weeks, then one month, and now perhaps two. Little does he know that if we are back to something resembling the skeleton of normality in six months, then I will be very much surprised. I have greatly enjoyed watching his hangdog look when he has to restate his previous proclamations, he will never understand that this virus does not react to bluster and threats, he can’t bully it or shame it into submission and you can’t ever lie about it, because it will just continue to do its thing and to hell with you. His complete lack of any kind of practical sense and understanding of the scientific process is more then astonishing, and extremely dangerous to the rest of us. It all comes down to the notion that the rich people and businesses (including the President), are not making any money during this close-down of the economy, so we should do everything possible to get back to making money, and if a few hundred thousand people die, so what, they are mostly old folks. The sheer and utter disregard for human life is completely mind boggling and I will not get into the daily waves of total disbelief I suffer at the lack of humanity from people who really should know better.
Things are not going to get back to normal, ever again, or at least what we have come to expect as normal. The nature of the virus is that we will need to be on guard about it for some time to come, perhaps several years, whether or not we actually get a good vaccine for it. At last check it was said that there are at least two different versions of the current virus and perhaps as many as eight. Will we need a separate vaccine for each of these? It is also related to the MERS and SARS family of viruses which continue to raise up in different forms every couple of years and actually the Covid-19 virus is a SARS type virus. There are indications that you can get infected twice and some rather obscure reports of the virus in cats and dogs, so the possibility that you can get it from a pet might be a future concern. If we have a larger die-off from the disease, (and early trends indicate that it may well happen here), will people want to get back together in groups, will they want to go back to restaurants, movies, live theater, concerts, sports events, schools and the workplace? How long will the fear last and how long before many places of business will have to close for good and will there be any places left to go back to? The medical profession and all of the hospitals which operate on a profit basis many have a difficult time getting back to anything resembling normal. They have had to practically shut down everything else they normally do to confront the virus. What about all the cancer, heart disease, accident patients, and all of the other illnesses they help treat, there is no close-down for them, they still need treatment.
The travel industry is completely knocked for a loop, no flights, no trains, and most cruise lines may never recover. National parks are shut, Disneyland and all of the other amusement parks are closed for the duration. Are people ever going to want to go back there in large numbers? Who is going to have money for that anyway, many businesses have gotten rid of all of their employees, where is all of the money going to come from in the future to support grocery and department stores, malls and other places? The government cannot keep handing out cash forever, the national debt will eventually become too great to continue to support operating the country. I am not trying to be a downer here, believe it or not. The future will be altered in ways we cannot imagine now, and we need to think about what we should do to adapt to the changed conditions of how we live our lives, the new normal will be nothing like we used to have.
(Here we are waiting to get into Disneyworld in October, 2016. Will we ever be confident enough to travel in large groups again. I have many conditions that make me very liable to becoming ill or dying if I am exposed to the virus, the fear of it is very real to me.)
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