This my humble take on the pandemic. Harry Potter of course has a perfect metaphor for this situation (too). Imagine Hogwarts being modern economy and Voldemort being the virus.
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| ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (/Sorcerer's) Stone, 1997 |
“SO WHAT?" Harry shouted. "Don't you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? Do you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the house cup? --”
If you break the quarantine/curfew/distancing Voldemort will get the Philosopher's Stone. It doesn't matter if you have a job after this pandemic, because you will be a shell of a man, broken and sad - or dead. If you think it's okay for some people to die as long as you can continue on like before, just read up on history and see for example how the world was after the Black Plague. The world won't be the same no matter what you think.
It's all kinds of horrible, like a friend of mine said when we were talking about all those people who has to die alone in the hospitals because no visitation and the healthcare is collapsing. I know I can take this situation pretty easy because I'm used to being home. If I can be a hero just by playing videogames, I have no complaints doing just that. Hello World of Warcraft, my old friend... But I really do symphatise with people who are outgoing, used to live busy lives and has more people at home than just my own sorry ass. And I get that if you're used of being an independent person, it is hard to ask for help for things you would be able to do yourself. If you're not sick, it feels silly to ask someone else to go to the store for you.
And I get that there has been many mistakes all around the world. What I don't get is what it helps to point out those mistakes now that it's too late to correct them. Maybe some people think we then stop making other mistakes now? Because we'd be more careful? Even though mistakes were made by being careful? I don't know... I guess "you can lead a horse to Evanescence but you can't bring him to life". In this case it is to give people the proper tools to think and more than plenty of information, but no one can make people see how dangerous of a situation we're in. Of course it's hard to do so, if it's not personal. If you don't know anyone who has been sick, if you have no doubt that you're healthy, it can feel unfair to be restricted and it can almost feel like a conspiracy. Here we see the lack of trust in our governments and the media and we'll fall back to our own senses to figure out what is true and what is not.
Maybe some people will now stop complaining about the unemployed who "just sit around the house all day doing nothing", like that's so easy. The same restrictions most people are experiencing now, are the ones poor people have. They can't go anywhere or do anything because they can't afford it. And if something is absolutely necessary, a poor person might have to hoard it from sale. I know this life feels hard right now, but you'll soon get used to it and I can tell you, it's not that bad. There's plenty of things to do: books, audiobooks, tv-shows, movies, you can sing, dance, play, learn a new skill, take an online course, open a window and breath in the fresh air, do spring cleaning, call your long-lost relatives and friends, paint, write, take a nap, move the furniture, build a pillow fortress and sleep in a sleeping bag, go through the photos and delete duplicates, knit, find a silly workout video from the 70's and try to keep up with it, listen to podcasts, draw something without looking at the paper, check out some social media platform you've never used before, tape encouraging words to your window, see an art/museum exhibition online, cook something that needs a lot of time, go for a long walk, imagine a better future, update your addons...
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The most important thing is that your life has changed. You don't have to do it like you used to before. You can actually take the nap in the middle of the day if you want to. There are plenty of articles saying that you should hold on to your routines, and maybe that's a good advice. From my own experience the better way is to accept that life is no longer like it used to be and try to find a new rythm to your days before you loose yourself in the nothingness. If you can still work as much as you are required in a day, you don't have to be like you were before. You can do what ever you want without compromising the others, enjoy the time at home. I promise you, it won't last forever.
The world will be like Fawkes and rise from the ashes.
"Nevertheless, Harry, while you may only have delayed his return to power -- if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power."
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