The Coronavirus Outbreak and Its Place in American History

            As someone who has spent my entire life living in New York City, being proud to call this area home, the past few months have been by far the most confusing and challenging that I have ever witnessed in this city. The outbreak of the Coronavirus across the country has created an inescapable and oftentimes overwhelming issue that challenges many of the ways of living and the very identity of the American people. Perhaps no city has felt this impact more heavily than New York, where as of April 5^th, more than 67,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed. Currently, city officials are encouraging New Yorkers to stay quarantined at home and practice social distancing in an attempt to minimize the potential for the virus to spread. As a student and someone who is used to commuting to and from school, this change in lifestyle has been very difficult to adjust to and has been one of the strangest times in my life. While at first it seemed like a dream come true, being able to stay home as opposed to coming in to class every day, it has slowly devolved into a frightening and uneasy period.

            The response by the city, state, and federal government to the pandemic has been largely controversial, with many believing that not enough has been done to prevent and control the spread of the virus. A pandemic of this magnitude, however, is largely unprecedented in the modern age. Previous large-scale viral outbreaks such as the Black Plague or Spanish flu of course never had the advantage of modern medicine and technological capabilities to connect the world in an effective way. With the ability to instantly transmit news across the internet, many people may feel frustrated by a lack of information about the outbreak. I find it particularly interesting that even in today’s era with so many media outlets and mediums, I have still heard a number of outrageous and ridiculous conspiracy theories surrounding the origin and spread of the virus. Part of this makes me think back to Libra and the mystery and conspiracies surrounding the Kennedy assassination. In many ways, even though times have clearly changed in the nearly half century since that event, some things seemed to have stayed the same.

            In class, we have had several discussions on the history of American culture and identity. However, over the past few months and especially the past few weeks, many of these aspects that define this countries identity have been compromised. Several stores, businesses, and public areas that are important for the country’s economy are either temporarily closed or have suffered tremendously due to the outbreak. Even nearly every major sports league including the NBA and NFL, defining characteristics of American culture, have been suspended indefinitely with no clear timetable for return in sight. In many ways, it feels as if the way of life that was typical in America has been put on pause for the time being. Although it may seem like an odd comparison, I was reminded a bit of the sentiment that Kurt Vonnegut presented in Slaughterhouse-Five about how we deal with global issues such as this. The COVID-19 outbreak will definitely remain as one of the most significant events in our lives, however, it is difficult to know what place in history this will take. The bleak and indifferent outlook on tragedy and loss that Vonnegut felt about the second World War may very well be how the public views this pandemic decades from now, simply believing that “so it goes.” Eventually we all expect and hope that life will go back to normal, however for the time being we are living in a significant moment in American history.

By David Sajdera