To me, those are the first words that spring to mind in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. And I think they are the wake-up calls that western society might have needed for a very long time.
First of all, it has highlighted the fragility of our world. It is a scary realisation to think how drastically lives have changed in only a number of weeks. These are changes that will impact and affect our lives and the world forever. While a handful of us have the physical, financial and mental capacity to cope with this isolation, many more lack those resources. Those are the ones experiencing the real crisis. We are all in the same storm, but we don’t have the same boats.
On a lighter note, it has highlighted the positive effects of all the technological, scientific and medical resources we do have. How the modern world is not all doom and gloom. Most encouraging is how it has underlined the importance of real human connection. Save an alien invasion maybe, I struggle to imagine any other scenario that would have united this fractured, angry planet like this apolitical virus has. It’s a global phenomenon, crossing borders, creeds and cultures.