Pan(dem)ic Thoughts
by Irene Henry in collaboration with Sunrise Movement Chicago
While the magnitude of ripple effects from the pandemic across society can feel paralyzing, there is also comfort to be found in this profoundly deep moment of shared human existence. Not since the last world war has there been such a collective global effort to drastically change behavior to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and those most vulnerable.
Yet this moment stands alone from a time of war. Unlike humanity polarizing into distinct combative factions, this enemy is universal and requires collective effort and rapid, widespread response to save those most at risk … just like climate change.
The strange position in which we as activists now find ourselves is that all we were striving for — mass noncooperation, worker strikes, societal disruption — is occurring suddenly and on a huge scale we’re only beginning to comprehend. The significance of this moment is that we need to figure out how we as a movement — a movement committed to safety and community — can seize upon this dramatic shift in society to demonstrate the need for all we’ve been fighting for up until this point.
This crisis has revealed that the economy and life in general can grind to a halt not due to the actions of those in power, but because of individuals making drastic changes collectively and on a large scale, i.e. a strike. Imagine if this were to happen again … but to protest government inaction on climate legislation. While this moment feels terrifying and unprecedented, there is a sense of empowerment in knowing that ordinary people everywhere simply changing the routine of their daily lives can cause the entire world to stop.
This crisis affects all parts of society, with particular severity on those already vulnerable, in swift and drastic ways that foreshadow the dramatic manner in which climate change will alter all our lives. Our task now is to demonstrate how the interdependent coalitions and newly woven community fabric emerging from this devastation can guide us toward solutions for a cooperative effort to address climate change.
While undoubtedly this is a time of suffering and sacrifice, it is also a time of beauty and community and love. As we socially isolate to protect those around us, we find time and space to take a deep breath, to remember loved ones, to embrace long-forgotten hobbies or books or recipes we’ve been too busy to try, to reach out to neighbors and grandparents and old friends. This newly-found freedom from ordinary life alongside the responsibility to isolate has strangely brought us closer together in beautiful ways at a time when we need each other most.
It is imperative that those healthy and willing and able do not retreat into themselves in spiraling feelings of despair and powerlessness against such a colossal wall of devastation. The enormity of the situation can take your breath away, but we must collectively work to provide for those most in need. For humanity to continue, we must be able to see this time as a gift; we must be able to acknowledge that beauty is still present in the natural world, in our shared humanity, in small moments of joy and laughter in the midst of profound tragedy.
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It is a time to tend to your plants or gardens or loved ones with extra care.
It is a time to notice the rekindled appreciation for those around us: families whole and fractional and newly formed — whether by proximity or necessity — sharing meals and games and long walks together, partners enjoying extra time with each other, dogs loving constant attention from their humans.
It is a time to cook your favorite foods — whether they bring nostalgia or comfort — or to make something special for your roommate, partner, child, mother, grandfather.
It is a time to practice your art or passion with greater intensity than ever before.
It is a time to assess where you are in life — who you’re with, what you’re doing, what you love and don’t love — and to determine whether you are on the right course.
It is a time to focus thoughtfully on how you will help — what will your contribution be to this enormous task? — but also a time to be gentle with yourself and accept your weaknesses and remember that we’re all only human.
It is a time to step into the rain or snow or sun and feel the full effects of familiar patterns of existence continuing despite dramatic changes in society.
It is a time to remember that spring is still coming, that flowers will bloom, that trees grow and breathe and spread their roots deep in the ground to protect each other.
