It came. We were in the path. How do we, individually and collectively, find encouragement from an avalanche of discouragement? How do we move from pandemic pandemonium to a positive post pandemic perspective? What can we find from the past to vault us forward?
Centuries ago, in the year 1509, the philosopher Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam spent a week abroad in London writing down his thoughts. He was visiting another established humanitarian scholar and friend. The intent of Erasmus was to entertain his host, Sir Thomas More. More was later raised to a martyrdom sainthoodsadly executed for opposing the marriage dissolution of King Henry VIII from Catherine of Aragon in 1535.
The fictional story that Erasmus wrote, In Praise of Folly, became a major satirical work still hoisted for its insight to the world he critiqued by exposing its blights upon humanity. The Christian Scholar investigated the ironies and superstitions of mankind, especially the decisions foisted by a churchhis churchthat had become much too restrictive and imposing. He was considered among the greatest scholars of the Northern Renaissance. He wrote what was to become his most celebrated publication in only a week's time!
The book's purported narrator, the goddess Folly, proclaims herself to be the daughter of Youth and Wealth, nursed by Drunkenness and Ignorance. She is accompanied by such followers as Self-love, Pleasure, Flattery, and Sound Sleep.
The brilliant satire transcended the ages for its creative commentary. In Praise of Folly made it all the way to become one of my college era term papers. Erasmus, the religious philosopher was well ahead of his time. In a sense, Post Pandemic Perspective is intended for the parallel purpose advocated by Erasmusa correction to humanity. The period of the pandemic appears as a time to readjust thought and look at ourselves differently. Fate is upon us.
With the need of the annotated research element, and because very few minds in any era could possibly match the intellect of the scholarly Erasmus, my offering of Post Pandemic Perspective was projected to take twice that timetwo weeks. Even then, the sense was that fourteen days would be quite optimistic. But, then again, as the author, I did not need to constantly dip a quill into a jar of inkand the pandemic stay-at-home order had already taken effect. I began to wonder, How will we come out of this on the other end? Surely, there should be more compelling other-side-of-midnight projections to anticipate as the new dawn approaches.
What qualifies me, or anyone, to assert what positives should follow a worldwide pandemic? Nothing. Should a work such as this be compiled by a government bureaucrat? A doctor? A philosopher? A psychologist? Maybe.
Personally, I claim no expertise in any matter other than being, like Erasmus, a humanitarian. I could be considered just quirky enough to write this short book based on my unwavering idealism. I have long espoused a view that we, as Americans, do some things by archaic and ineffective means when we have the tools to perform these functions much better. I have been asked (twice) to lecture at Harvard on my views because, I suppose, my views are a little futuristic and subject to political acrimony. You'll see in what follows that I advocate significant betterments of simplicity.
The pandemic gave us all a chance to reinspect what is and then gaze at what could be. This effort is certainly a conversation starter in that direction. What is imperfect can seldom be made perfect. But those that believe like me that they can be made less imperfect will enjoy reading on.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it became clear by the end of the third week in April 2020 that nearly everything we experienced as humans in strife would be re-inspected post-strife. We would emerge much differently than when we entered. The first serious indication may have been the travel ban on Chinese nationals entering the United States of January 31, 2020. Like a storm in the Atlantic bearing down on the East Coast, the indicators worsened. But unlike the storm, this malady would stay and hyper-multiply. Reported cases increased exponentially. Deaths followed. America was at an eerie standstill economicallyand philosophically.
There were few smiles to return; and even less of life's greatest potionlaughter. People were expiring in alarming numbers, and the concurrent residual was that funerals were private with no loving friends or extended family to lament or to herald the life of the deceased. And the deceased died alone, without family at his or her side. It became an odd time, indeed.
With respect to Erasmus, the long-ago satirist, today there is not much that we can take away with any sentiment other than sorrow and regret. But we cannot succumb to the dark side of tragedy. We must move forward as a society and build our new world once again. Another literary figure, William Wordsworth had written in his Ode: Intimations of Immortality,
That though the radiance which was once so bright
be now forever taken from my sight.
Though nothing can bring back the hour
of splendor in the grass, glory in the flower.
We will grieve not, rather find
strength in what remains behind.
The tomorrows we will enjoy again will be up to us to shape and author within purposeful considerations of what we all experienced during the dark era of the COVID-19 virus. Our culture changed while we were home recollecting, reconnecting, and re-inspecting our lives in the fervor of what would follow. Perhaps we will have found something about ourselves in those unusual times. We may have rediscovered a deep well of creativity in our collective mindsetto benefit the post-pandemic world we will rebuild together.
This work is dedicated to those we all miss, who died in the Times of the Pandemic. May their souls rest in peace, and may we remember them always.
W. Thomas McQueeney
