The Coronavirus Must Alter Our “Normal Way of Life” Going Forward

“If the global social discourse continues to be one where we ignore what does not directly affect us, then when the next global emergency occurs, governments will fail people again.”

At the beginning of 2020, undoubtedly, the world changed. However, did it change permanently? The current Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has threatened what we have regarded as our normal way of life. Of course, there are (and have been) other significant global and national problems, whether it be climate change, poverty, femicide, or low wages. However, there has also been the belief that the solutions to these longstanding problems could be remedied through certain public policies, which, in turn, generated a certain feeling of control. As this line of thinking goes, ideally, with sufficient political will or pressure from citizens, solutions to these problems could be achieved. Furthermore, many of these previous problems only affected certain segments of society, leaving a chasm between those concerned about them (and protesting on their behalf) and the rest of the world.

Previously, it might have been part of our normal way of life to avoid certain neighborhoods at night for safety reasons—or to avoid certain foods because of health concerns. However, COVID-19 is not just happening “elsewhere,” and we are certainly not immune to it.

COVID-19, however, has completely erased this feeling of control, and it has also diminished the divide between those protesting against certain issues and everyone else. This is because the ongoing pandemic affects everyone and makes no economic, social, or political distinctions. Maybe it is the very blurring of this divide that has made many of us, particularly those accustomed to avoiding large-scale problems, feel so vulnerable. Previously, it might have been part of our normal way of life to avoid certain neighborhoods at night for safety reasons—or to avoid certain foods because of health concerns. However, COVID-19 is not just happening “elsewhere,” and we are certainly not immune to it.

The pandemic has made us equal in many ways, and being equal in front of a single crisis is not something that often happens. Of course, there are groups that are more vulnerable than others because of their health or age, and there are, indeed, differences in the way various national governments are handling the pandemic. However, the initial and immediate threat of COVID-19 for the entire world population does not consider borders, religions, or political affiliations. It is a matter of being vulnerable by virtue of being human. International mobility has been restrained; many governments are facing a lack of medical supplies and hospital beds, and the socioeconomic divisions that previously enabled large segments of society to be able to ignore certain other widespread problems are being erased.