After the United States declared war on Japan (December 8, 1941) and then on Germany (December 11, 1941), there was a lot to do, and people did it. They enlisted and shipped off to fight overseas. They bought war bonds. Women who had never worked outside the home went to work in factories. It was a whirlwind of activity. People were proud to serve their country.
Today if you go into any bookstore, you’ll find shelf after shelf filled with books covering every aspect of WWII. The generation that fought in that war and kept the home fires burning has been called “The Greatest Generation.”
On the other hand, you won’t find many books on an earlier national and international crisis, the 1918 flu pandemic (also called the Great Flu and the Spanish Flu). Maybe it just wasn’t as dramatic as the war. Or maybe people didn’t step up and work together, so there wasn’t as much to be proud of. Even though about 675,000 Americans died during the Great Flu (compared with 53,000 in battle in WWI), when the flu pandemic was over, people simply didn’t want to talk about it. (See this article in the New York Times by David Brooks.)
It’s understandable, I suppose. Disease feels like such a personal, quiet thing. It’s a national emergency, but there are no rah-rah-rahs. No parades or rallies. And yet, we’re all in this one together, maybe even more so than during a war.
In this crisis, we’re not asked to jump into action. On the contrary, the advice we’re given sounds like negative action.
Don’t shake hands.
Don’t go out.
Don’t go to school.
Don’t go to sports or cultural events.
Don’t take that trip or have that wedding or party.
Work from home.
Don’t touch your face.
The one positive message: Wash you hands.
It doesn’t sound very heroic, does it? That’s the paradox of fighting this virus: The best way to beat it and serve our families, neighbors, and country is, in many cases, NOT to act.
Here’s one more small positive thing we can do: Call, Skype, and text family and friends who are stuck at home.
Stay strong!!
Thanks, Marta. So far no problem except for my fever.
Good thoughts, Nicki. I had no idea that so many died in 1918.
Some events in history are remembered by everyone. Others we’d like to forget.
Thanks Nicki, for a healthy perspective on this virus and how it has captured, or enraptured the world. Fear drives people to hoard things like toilet paper and anti-bacterial items. Everyone just needs to take a deep breath, wash his or her hands, and keep a distance. Moreover, you are right, right now, that is an act of unselfishness and in some cases bravery. This too, shall pass; everything does one way or another. I see this as a great learning opportunity for our government and for ourselves. We need to do better, and now that we know that, there should be no going backward; which concerns me, because we Americans forget and move on in the ease of our lives, not remembering fits more easily in our comfy lives than remaining diligent. But, we’ll see….Additionally, our government(s) need to have more empathy and insight into the human side of doing business, where to invest tax dollars, and when to sound alarms without being alarming or defensive.
I agree that this could be a great learning opportunity. I don’t think we’ve forgotten as much about public health as it appears. The Civil Service is our memory. But we’re in an unusual situation with this president, who considers the civil service the “deep state” and has disbanded and de-funded whole sections that would have known what to do. The public does forget. I didn’t even remember when the swine flu was or whether it was serious or not or what we did about it.
One lesson is, how inefficient and slow to react our health care system is with everything determined by who is going to pay what. It’s a big problem that won’t be easily solved.
Yes, it’s kind of sad that the most heroic thing we can all do right now is stay home and stop panic buying and hoarding supplies.
But there some pretty extraordinary folks who did jump into action.
Li Wenliang, the Chinese doctor who tried to get the word about about COVID-19, despite being silenced by the Chinese government.
Professor Zhang Yongzhen’s team at the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Centre that published the genome sequence on open platforms in January–and were immediately closed down by the Chinese government for doing it without government permission.
All the health care workers in Wuhan and Italy.
Yes, kudos to the health care workers. I noticed in reading a few articles about the 1918 flu pandemic that they were also the ones that stood out. Sadly, when they asked ordinary people to help them, they often didn’t respond.
So many people are stepping up. The mayor of Seattle, Jenny Durkan, said that she, Gov. Inslee, the King Count executive and others have accomplished more in two weeks than they usually can get done in a year. Then there are all the policemen, firemen, postal workers, and many more who just keep on doing their jobs.
I’ve heard from more family members lately than ever before. That’s one good thing out of this chaos.
Yes. My family and friends are good about keeping in touch, but they’ve been even better than usual these past couple of weeks.