March has surely been the longest 31 days in history. This is an odd, uneasy time when months feel like years and the future has no shape at all. During an email conversation with a friend she mentioned that it felt odd at first not to go shopping but (to paraphrase) she was realizing how much our consumer culture had influenced her and was feeling rather embarrassed about the whole thing.
Life is not the same as it was even a month ago. And the country will not be the same when this endless wait is over. Covid-19 is a wake-up call and our failings are made clearer by the day. Lack of preparation for something we knew was coming; lack of a national, reliable healthcare system; lack of real support for low-income workers, lack of paid sick leave and paid family leave for everyone. The list is endless. A few of us have been coasting along on a buoyant stock market while those in steerage were bailing and praying for relief.
Not surprisingly our boat is sinking, while we put our lives on pause and wait for that shapeless future. It will certainly mean change for all of us. But what if we could mold that shapeless future into any design we chose? What would we add to it, what subtract? Maybe it's time to put on our thinking caps and imagine a place we all can love. We should get started now, while there's plenty of time. April will definitely be the longest month ever.
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