Here we all are again, together. Or more precisely, here we all are again, alone.
These are extremely weird times. Dr. Fauci apparently has said that even after the virus lockdown is eased, a return to normal life will not be possible.
I'm wondering what we will have to give up. Shaking hands? Easy. Elbow bumps work.
Parties? Sports contests? Flying? Professional gatherings?
Where does the list start and where does it end?
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For random reasons, I've been wondering about love in the age of this virus. People seeking to meet new prospective partners must be feeling disoriented and discouraged, as if one of life's supreme purposes is being stolen from them.
How can you date someone if you have to stay six feet away?
I'm tempted to revisit Love in the Time of Cholera, the classic by Gabriel García Márquez. In literature, everything has been anticipated.
It must seem odd to some that I am preoccupied by love at a time when people are dying all around us. But it feels natural to me. Life must go on.
There are so many kinds of love. Some of them result in children, who will grow up and old and carry on our traditions, be the guardians of our legacies, and create the societies of the future.
Part of their effort will be based on assimilating this disruption in the natural order of things. They will be taking this into account their entire lives. Should, as I fervently hope, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event, they will memorialize it for their children and grandchildren.
My presumption, though I've seen no data, is this pandemic is related to climate change. We know scientifically that a global change of a few degrees in temperature unleashes potentially massive disruptions to our ecosystems, as they struggle to adapt.
This is an election year, less we forget, in the U.S. Control of the White House and Congress is at stake. If I could ask each American voter to consider only one issue, it would be global climate change.
If someone in a position of power denies the grim reality, the scientific certainly of the transition that is destroying our coral reefs, our rainforests, and the rendering of vast areas of the planet ultimately uninhabitable, let's replace that person with somebody who cares about the future our children and grandchildren will inherit.
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