A year ago, on Saturday, the country entered its first stage of blockade, although some have adhered to the guidelines better than others. Three hundred and sixty-five days later, Covid-19 extinguished more than 530,000 lives in the world’s most prosperous country – about a fifth of the global death toll.
Despite a bumpy launch campaign in some states, many foresee a summer full of hugs, dinners, vacations, concerts, sporting events, beer in bars, religious services, classroom learning, parties, museums and crowded cinemas – among other pleasures we considered guaranteed.
After receiving his second dose of the vaccine, Joe Sanders, 93, of Princeton, West Virginia, told CNN last month that he had no audacious plans; he was simply eager to escape the nursing home, where he had been confined for his safety, by some ham and tomato sauce.
“I was very relieved and I hope to get out of here and do some things,” said Sanders. “It kind of supports you, instead of feeling like you’re going to stay here until the end.”
Hope was also a valuable weapon. It is one of many things that Americans have learned in the past 12 months.
Other lessons:
1. About resilience
It wasn’t always pretty. The pandemic exposed our arrogance as well as our naivete and divisions, but we have learned to adapt to the most devastating episode in recent history.
We not only acclimated ourselves to the shocking interruptions that came with pandemic life – at work, at school, in our social life – we did this while sailing through the busiest hurricane season on record and in an already latent racial reckoning.
It was far from being a uniform effort, but apparently, we show our courage, our resilience. The overwhelming majority of us continued to wear masks and avoid large gatherings to keep ourselves and others safe until the cavalry arrived in the form of vaccines.
Recovery seems close, but we would do well to remember those of us who have lost loved ones and livelihoods. They could be any of us and, for them, the effects of the pandemic will last long after the final vaccination phase. The best recipe? Some collective compassion.
2. In sacrifice
What we are willing to sacrifice in a catastrophe varies from almost nothing to almost everything.
Even the most vocal leaders on the virtues of masks, distancing themselves and staying at home could not fail to go to the hair salon or a Michelin-starred restaurant. They set a terrible example, but their temptations are not foreign. Who among us didn’t want to cut an inch or two, or some expertly prepared waves and peat?
Still, many of us decided that we could wait. The events that spread out made headlines, but in the media spotlight were tens of millions of people giving up favorite parts of their lives to save others.
Not everything was a choice, of course. Many companies have closed. Hospitals and nursing homes have banned visitation. Events have been canceled and travel banned, but we would be remiss to ignore the sacrifices that accompany them, which are tantamount to small acts of heroism and, without a doubt, save countless lives.
3. In our elders
Knowing that a loved one is dying alone is painful, as well as not being there to help relieve your pain. Saying goodbye via Zoom or from a parking lot is heartbreaking.
Before the pandemic, there was an epidemic of isolation and depression among the elderly, and the country generally scored poorly on the way it cared for its elderly. Older Americans were already losing their physical touch and seeing people’s faces more than most. The pandemic has amplified these deficiencies in profound ways.
The coronavirus attacked the elderly with a particularly deadly effect, and it took Americans a long time to manifest and protect them. Look at Governor Andrew Cuomo, initially considered a robust and responsive model for Covid-19: he now faces allegations that he has obscured the death toll among New York nursing homes.
America is not exceptional here. In September, many months after the start of the pandemic, the director-general of the World Health Organization expressed disappointment when he heard a colleague say that the massive global death toll was “good” because most of the victims were elderly.
“No, when the elderly are dying, it is not all right. It is a moral bankruptcy,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Every life, young or old, is precious and we have to do everything to save it.”
Conclusion: we can take care of the elderly much better.
4. About who is essential
Covid-19 highlighted the need for many professions. At the top of the list, health professionals and teachers are underpaid, while doctors take the Hippocratic oath seriously, often at your own risk.
Employees in agriculture and in the restaurant and grocery sectors, as well as delivery drivers, are vital to keeping people healthy in times like these. Caretakers, police and social workers also put their safety at stake.
In a nation that gives a lot, some would say unbalanced, value to athletes and celebrities, the pandemic forced a reassessment of priorities, of whom it is essential. Now that Covid-19 has found this out, is it going to be okay?
5. About versatility
This should only last a few weeks. Despite all the damage caused by the pandemic, we have shown that we can pivot.
Now we know that almost anything can be delivered to our door. We learn how to socialize online, or on a balcony or backyard – Bring your own drink, of course. Work at home and remote learning have not been ideal – in fact, they have been very stressful for many – but we have found ways to make them work and, in some cases, improve.
Living rooms, dining rooms, basements, guest rooms and backyard sheds have become (almost) functioning office spaces. Neighbors came together to form groups, where children can connect with their teachers from afar, easing the burden on parents who still need to work and pay bills, no matter what the state of the world.
At the same time, the effects of the blockade have affected the same racial and socioeconomic disparities as many societal ills. Many feel that the educational gap has widened. While we all want to pull our hair out, we are still evaluating the real influence of the pandemic on mental health, and experts are concerned about the ripple effects on Generation C, the Covid generation.
6. In technology
The technology has been extremely useful, whether it be taking us to the nearest vaccine clinic, sending a shopping list to a delivery service, having fun, visiting doctors and therapists remotely, educating our children or connecting with our friends, family and coworkers. We also learned that many of these meetings could have been e-mails.
But not everything was smooth.
The technology landscape has distanced itself from the dispossessed, denying many people access to important innovations. Social media is both a blessing and a curse. Videoconferencing is aging rapidly. Ordering is not as rewarding as dining out. Personal worship surpasses the display of services on a laptop. “Wonder Woman 1984” and “Tenet” would have been more fun in the theater. And although we owe D-Nice, Post Malone, Norah Jones and others our gratitude for the distractions they have offered us, nothing reproduces live music.
7. In science
Science is incredible and, in many ways, it is the only thing that can save us, regardless of whether we believe in it. Science, of course, produced several vaccines in record time and provided us with vital guidance on how to protect ourselves.
Many have chosen to ignore the latter, but those who have paid attention to science may receive some credit for helping to save lives.
We have learned, however, that science does not always move as quickly as the problems it seeks to solve. Most worrying is that when science is emerging, some will exploit uncertainties for political purposes, and even our best experts can err on the side when science is new and confused.
8. Actually
In the Internet Age, when most of the answers to life’s questions are just a few keystrokes away, some of us still struggle to get to the truth and the facts. This is not new. In 2017, CNN felt the need to launch an internal advertising campaign aimed at those who sell misinformation.
The struggle to find the truth brought us deadly consequences during the pandemic. Aggravating issues have been those of us who have such a strong opinion of our civil liberties that we are willing to risk hurting ourselves and others. Add to that obscene characters who politicize anything, supported by leaders who put power and others who put the economy on lives, and you have a toxic recipe for dealing with a deadly outbreak.
This put an exclamation point in something that many already knew: the truth cannot be chosen, but many think it can.
9. With strength and unity
We often it cannot rely on politicians to rescue us (not like corporate America can). Some leaders may fly to Utah or Cancún when calamity strikes or hesitate about relief checks while people are getting sicker, more hungry or with a utility bill coming in, but in many ways, we can trust our fellow Americans.
Among the headlines narrating bad behavior, there were stories of selflessness and triumph: restaurant owners feeding the hungry, doctors treating the poor, musicians offering a respite from chaos, volunteers helping ex-convicts or addicts, among many others.
This raises an important question about how we, as a country, define strength: is it attachment to our freedom, damn the consequences, or reaching out and sacrificing ourselves – even with a heavy mask on – to ensure the safety of our fellow citizens?
10. In class
There is an old saying that history repeats itself and there is no reason to believe that it does not apply to post-pandemic life.
If we engage in denial or fail to listen to the lessons we have been given, we could do it all over again – and perhaps sooner than we would like.