Sunday, March 15, 2020

Coming Together by Staying Apart

It seems counter-intuitive, Harry Smith of NBC observed in a video essay that closed the Nightly News broadcast Friday evening: Americans are being asked to come together in the fight to stem the spread of the coronavirus by practicing "social distancing," by staying apart. In this strange, uncertain time at the dawn of 2020, schools are closing and public events are being cancelled postponed or cancelled as cities and communities attempt to protect our most vulnerable and assist the medical community by trying to "flatten the curve." And staying away from each other to decrease the risk of infection is the recommended path. So, the family and I are at home this weekend, and planning to stay a bit isolated for at least a few days or so. And there is so much to ponder and unpack about this practice and its place in this time.

Some interesting thoughts:

In December and January, will we see a rise in birth rates .... or divorce and increased attendance at AA meetings?

Is Generation X, the so-called "latchkey kids" of the 70s and 80s, the most well-prepared to practice social isolation because it's basically in our DNA, and we've been practicing it our entire lives?

Are many men about the discover what their lives are like beyond sports?

Will I finally learn to play piano and improve my drawing and sketching and painting and perhaps study some more French and Chinese and ask my son to teach me some math and get around to finishing all those essays that are languishing in my Google drive and ....?

How much can you really learn from online tutorials?


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