2020 was a tumultuous year, to put it mildly. But it would be a mistake to not give this annum a proper valediction because we might miss that the pandemic was actually just the penultimate event, an inciting incident that led to the far more impactful rising action. In short, COVID-19 was a catalyst that brought hitherto potential reactions at every level of authority and in all areas of life to fruition. These, and not the virus, are what will go on to shape the century.
I believe severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 exists; I believe it originated from Wuhan, China; this virus has killed people, often brutally, and seems particularly deadly to the elderly; the vaccine, regardless of one’s inclination to take it, is a marvel for how quickly it was developed. I am not a medical expert and will not impute motives to any of our authorities in this space but the socio-econo-political effects of their decisions are fair game for my comment.
Indeed, I personally witnessed that COVID-19 policies can spread further than the virus. I endured our initial lockdown and lost my job due to COVID, so I moved for work. All tests done in that new community came back negative. LIfe was normal, outside of government offices, but eventually, the panic and fear via media began to affect us, resulting in confrontations. Near the end of my visit, mask mandates et al finally arrived and yet, to date, case history remain zero.
Historically, the most momentous events often require time to affect life far away. Indeed even the World Wars went on unnoticed in many places. But between the power of the modern state as well as instant communication, combined with the terrifying mystery of the virus itself, a novel development occurred: from the ISS to the most isolated monasteries, from our polar ice cap to Antarctica, as well as all they bookend, the protocols of daily life were changed in weeks.
That is unprecedented. And it is only matched by an unintended consequence of these sweeping changes enacted by state authority and echoed throughout the media - the average citizen’s mobilization for or against these changes. In the era before COVID (BC), even in those demographics where certain issues are closest to their hearts, people with no particular view existed. Today, the bell curve is flipped upside down and all with respect to COVID-19 policies.
The manifestation of division between decades long neighbours I witnessed in Northern Canada was a microcosm of an infinitely larger new reality. People who could not be bothered to call in an expired license plate, vote in an election, or hold a particular opinion even on flashpoint issues preached from the respective pulpits of their sacred or secular congregations, have all of a sudden jumped into the chronically understaffed political or cultural trenches in full battle dress.
Pandemic policy has acted as a winnowing fork of biblical proportions. Inside of families, churches, workplaces, markets, even entire countries, divergent opinions and actions are at the fore. The real phenomenon is the complete evaporation of widespread apathy within the body politic.
In short, because the broad mandates have affected everyone everywhere, the logical result is all of us and our unwalked dogs have an opinion on the matter. And unlike previous hard moments in the 21st century, such as 9/11 or 2008, this crisis has resulted in new protocols that cannot be avoided even if one doesn’t bother with flights or mortgages. Combine this with a lack of certainty about when “normal life” will resume, and is it any wonder that tensions are so high?
Thus, 2020’s true legacy is not the pandemic but the countermeasures implemented and the polarizing effect these had on people, most of whom were unengaged until now. I cannot say when the virus will be defeated, but I am certain these unintended consequences will outlast it.
