Lingering on the edge of change

Soon after lockdown, I heard reports that the water in Venetian canals was suddenly transparent while I, here in Jugenheim, told myself that the air seemed washed clean and the stars were more clearly seen at night. Could all this have been due to a greater harmony between us humans and the natural world? Of course, traffic on the roads and in the air will resume, but is it possible that living with less pollution, even if it was only for a couple of months, will linger in our consciousness as something we can achieve and that transformations like this are actually possible? 

Could it be that the world is on the edge of great change? A glimpse into the past suggests that events like wars, economic depressions and pandemics highlight the bitterest problems in the world: gross inequalities for example, both economic and racial, governmental incompetence, a disrespect for science and academia, the collapse of communities and a rampant individualism. If we can see these failures, we have an opportunity to change them.

Great change in the world has happened before. The plague that struck Europe in the 14th century must have shaken up the way people thought, thus bringing about the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance. Could it be that the aftermath of the current pandemic will spur such changes? Let's face it, the current pandemic has highlighted the inequalities between rich, well-connected people and communities, and poor and stigmatised communities like the Rohingya or those in Yemen and Syria. Or will it be that these latter communities will finally get the message that nobody gives a hoot about them or their needs? And what will be the political consequences of this?  Whatever they are, they are likely to be drastic. 

Where do writers come in to all this? Sooner or later, writers will establish the narrative about what happened during the corona pandemic, what we do now, what comes next and who to hold responsible. We will have the opportunity to challenge conventional wisdom, for example: is economic growth necessary or what is stopping the world from working together? Everyone agrees that the world will never be the same. But any changes will depend on the stories we tell ourselves about what this pandemic meant, what we did in the face of it and how we came out of it. Writers will make up their own meaningful narratives and these narratives will become history and suggest what will, or could, happen next.  

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Christopher Anthony GODDARD]

Somehow, I am reminded of a link between today's EU, failing to hold together - failure of mutual support among members - in the face of the pandemic, on the one hand, and, on the other, the failure of Christendom (as then was) to come to the aid of Byzantium in the 15th century... though the message finally reached at least the Poles in 648 (?), when Jan Sobieski and his winged horsemen routed the Turks at the gates of Vienna

[Robert Goddard]

Thanks for the comment, Chris. Yes, indeed I think there is a link but I believe you accidentally left a "1" from the date, which should have read 1648