The Pandemic Blues, Part 5, looking back: The pandemic language ...

These terms and expressions relating to the pandemic were relatively new when I first wrote this column in May, but are still very much with us in October, some seven-plus months into the pandemic.

We seem to be like the dog who chases his tail: We exert ourselves a lot chasing remedies for this pandemic, but make very little progress, and we're all to blame.
Now, with the depressing and gloomy winter looming --- when it will be more difficult to congregate outside --- we all face an uncertain future, and the chances of regaining even a glimpse of our previous normal lives dissipate with every passing day.

Question and complaint: Why do government officials like Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker simultaneously fret about the rise in cases while also opening up the state even further by activating “Step 2” of “Phase 3,” which increased the number of people allowed to gather indoors at museums and other venues, and especially restaurants?
That makes no sense since it’s clear that indoor gatherings increase the spread of cases.
And why are larger outdoor events such as the RuPaul gathering outside of the Emerald Square Mall in North Attleboro, MA, allowed to take place? Dozens of cars were allowed to be parked near each other in an outdoor lot where people could sit inside or outside of their cars. They were able to buy food from food trucks and also were allowed to buy merchandise.
The timing of the events on Oct. 13-14 couldn't have been worse as they were held just as the state’s cases are spiraling to levels not seen since the spring, and while there’s a lot of legitimate concern about keeping schools open in hybrid models.
Such questionable moves are contradictory and only serve to further confuse the average citizens who are just trying to muddle their way through this increasingly depressing and despairing time in our nation’s history.
It's further evidence of why, just three weeks before the election, there is truly little hope for this hopelessly divided and bitter country, where hatred rules above mercy and compassion, and sadly, there's also little real hope of the virus abating anytime soon. We are all just too selfish for that to ever happen.

Column Published in The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA, on May 13, 2020.
With Massachusetts residents hopeful of having some of the restrictions in place since mid-March lifted May 18, thus allowing some businesses to reopen, it's a good time to discuss 10 expressions that have become synonymous with our ongoing battle against COVID-19:
1. We're all in this together – This catch-phrase can be heard in most public service announcements and TV commercials, but it's only partially true. First the good news:
Millions of Americans have been showing unity by doing a variety of good deeds, ranging from delivering meals to shut-ins and raising money and donating food for the needy to taking the time to make masks, shields and other protective equipment for health care workers and first responders. Locally, hundreds of volunteers have pitched in to run food drives, while hundreds of others have helped neighbors, organized parades to honor those on the front lines and have pitched in to make a real difference.
Now the bad news: We've been battling this pandemic while being an increasingly bitterly divided country. Our national response to the pandemic has been 50 separate ones as the federal government has left many vital aspects of the effort to reopen the country up to the states, including supplying the tests needed to monitor people affected by the virus. That approach has severely hampered our chances of eradicating the virus, which is to our collective peril.
2. Social distancing – The need to stay 6 feet away from others has become ingrained In us, and with it likely to be a long time before those  measures disappear, the chances of us being able to greet our friends with handshakes or hugs seems more mirage than reality. In addition, our social distancing is being undermined by states that have opened up despite not meeting the federal guidelines for reopening, and by throngs of protesters, who have been gathering shoulder to shoulder in many states, including Massachusetts, to demand an end to the lockdowns.
3. Contact tracing – This is what government officials and health experts say needs to be done in order to, along with those aforementioned tests, open the country much more broadly. It involves trying to identify people who have come in contact with those who've been infected with the virus, and like social distancing, it appears that it'll be with us for the long haul.
4.  Flatten the curve – This was the main reason we had social distancing in the first place – to make sure that the number of infections leveled off. But with many states opening up despite seeing their infections soar, that expression isn’t going away anytime soon.
5. The new normal – All of the previous expressions are, of course, a reflection of “our new normal.” It should be pointed out, though, that we've been so scarred and frightened by this virus that it could be a very long time before we feel comfortable doing once-routine events, such as going to a movie theater, eating out, shopping at a mall or going to house parties. It's one thing for governors to open their states; it's entirely another for the residents of those states to want to resume activities that were once considered “normal,” but which are anything but now.
6. Out of an abundance of caution – We're hearing this with every sporting or charitable event, school graduation, prom, wedding or other major functions that are being either canceled or postponed. As disappointing as that’s been, the people making the decisions to scrub the events mean it when they say it's being done “out of an abundance of caution.” It's the only smart thing to do.
7. We're living in uncertain times – This is one of the many sentiments being expressed by corporations in their retooled ads for the pandemic, and while their intention is to be empathetic, the ads are overkill: We're well aware that these times are uncertain.
8. We're there to help – Many commercials are also trying to reassure us with this expression, but it's tiresome to hear huge corporations saying they're here to help; if they really cared about us, they'd give back any money that they might have received from the bailout bill that was intended for so many small business closed by the pandemic but who haven't seen a penny of those funds.
9. “There will be birthday parties ...” --- One of the ads running on TV urging Americans to fill out the 2020 Census tries to make us feel better by implying that someday soon we'll get our old lives and activities back. Sorry, but when it could be two years before we again feel comfortable enough to move about without fear of contracting a deadly virus, such a sentiment rings hollow.
10. Stay healthy and safe – This is how most of us are signing our emails and texts to loved ones, and it's how I'll end this column. I pray for your continued good health, as well as that of the first responders, health care workers, hospital workers – and all of those “essential” workers who are putting their lives on the line. I also hope that the so-called “non-essential” workers will be safe when they finally return to work.