Thoughts on the Pandemic from the UK

Dear America: It's March 2020 and we're under lockdown here in England. Here are a few thoughts and feelings about the pandemic in the UK. Right now it feels like a sci-fi horror movie where I can't see the alien, but I get glimpses of it as it rushes by me. The silent, empty streets are eerie and add to the sense of doom. It also feels like the days of IRA bomb threats (The Troubles). You don't know where the bomb has been hidden, so you don't know where to hide.
I've become much more aware of how many surfaces I touch in a normal day. Opening doors without my hands is a newly acquired skill. I look at every surface differently to gauge how likely it is to be contaminated. I don't obsess about any of these things, but we have discussed "what ifs".

The novelty of lockdown has worn off. We have relatives in Spain and our daughter is in the US. We know if any of them contracts the virus, we won't be able to fly to their aid; won't be able to comfort them if they're dying. That's rough. It also makes you forget past differences and cherish friends and families more.

I am an inveterate optimist. Google "Pollyanna" and that's me. "If there's a pile of horse poo in the living room, that means there's a pony!" is the way I see things. But I'm a realist, too. If there is a pony, it has to be fed, sheltered, and taken to the vet, which means it could be expensive. I try to be balanced. I have a gallows sense of humour and I forget that not everyone can handle dark thoughts, so I try to censor myself. I don't mean to scare people, but I do. But I'd rather face an issue straight on than deny it. The word "existential" is used a lot in discussions.

Our Prime Minister, Boris Johnson is a total bozo and has totally mismanaged the UK's response to the pandemic. I will never forgive him and the Conservatives for downplaying the dangers. People are dying in droves.  My attitude about the vast change in economics and our way of life is pragmatic. My grandparents and parents lived through the Great Depression and I listened to their experiences; learned their lessons. I live amongst people who were bombed in WWII. I know how to recycle, repair, and repurpose things. I enjoy giving others the benefit of my skills and experience. I'm not afraid of tough times. I've been there before. As far as the economy goes, it will be rebuilt, but I hope it will be a fairer economy. Barter economy will help when money isn't available. I hope governments and businesses will reward essential workers with better pay and respect; recognize that manual labor has genuine worth, and workers are assets, not necessary evils. I hope medical workers, teachers, and other caring professions are venerated and compensated appropriately again. I hope sciences become sexy again. I hope, I hope, I hope...
Although the present crisis is bad, experts in many fields have been warning the world for decades that we were headed for disaster. Instead of pointing fingers and placing blame, we should look at this as a slap upside the head that we need to change our ways of life anyway.

Thank you for reading. Comments welcome.

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