Pah!
People will go back to their normal ways of doing things because that’s what people do.
The 1918 flu pandemic killed as many as 50 million worldwide, but until Covid-19 most Americans were completely ignorant about it.
During the 80’s and 90’s, we were told constantly, “AIDS has changed the way we have sex forever. FOREVER!” Now many young gay men are having unprotected sex again. Condoms are for old people.
After 9/11, pundits warned us that irony and cynicism were dead. We were all going to be wholesome and candid and sincere from then on. Look how that turned out, I snarked.
Will anything be different? Some things will, and there is no knowing which ones. But as much as they can, Americans will go back to their old, familiar ways. And after scientists develop a vaccine and an effective treatment for the disease, Americans will forget all about it. It’s what people do.
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