Jeg melder mig ud af kulturkrigen, for livet skal leves. Vaccinerede, ansvarlige borgere bør igen kunne møde verden.
Covid has changed my view of other people
I resign from the culture war, because life must be lived. Vaccinated, responsible citizens should once again be able to engage with the world.
“The pandemic has changed me and I have lost friends. Friends I thought were different. Good people who have done volunteer work in Africa. I would never have thought they were anti-vaxxers.”
The conversation took place in a doctor´s office. “Have you changed your view of other people?”, he asked me.
I have to admit, I have. I have always had a curiosity when it came to meeting new people. That curiosity has flourished here in the United States, where I have met people from all over the world, people with vastly different religious, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
But in the two years we have lived with the pandemic, I have changed my behavior to a degree so that I don´t recognize my own way of behaving in the world anymore.
Because something within me has broken, namely the belief that we all want the best – for each other and for the greater community. But even so, I don´t want it to stop me from going on living.
Not everyone is willing to do their part, pull the load, even when the shit hit the fan. It makes me sad, but it also comes with an enormous sense of loneliness.
The pandemic caught us on the wrong foot in terms of logistics and vaccines – but it also pointed out a huge moral problem. In relation to vaccines and masks, this has become evident – even though it was the “community first, individual since” mindset that was the original approach.
After two years with the virus, we all know what measures work. If you choose to ignore the recommendations, you are cynical, selfish, and unsympathetic. I thought it was a matter of time, before even the fiercest mask and vaccination opponents would follow science. That’s not how it turned out.
“The Danes have had a more pragmatic approach to their daily lives during Covid, but here in the Seattle area where I live, it has been a strong identity marker to show in your behavior that you are on the blue team – on the side of science and the Democrats.
The division centers around what is in the best interest of society on one side and the freedoms of the individual citizen on the other. And in that conflict, I choose me and my family’s best. I have done my part for the community. Now it is the time to go outside and embrace the world again.
We will not eliminate this virus, we have learn how to live with it. Just as we must learn to live with people we do not agree with. Therefore, it is now time for us to reevaluate. We can´t continue to live a life of restrictions.
This is not easy, because there is a lot of fear and identity built into the way I and others have become accustomed to living in recent years. I sense that the Danes have had a more pragmatic approach to their daily lives during Covid, but here in the Seattle area where I live, it has been a strong marker of identity to show in your behavior that you are on the blue team – on the side of science and the Democrats.
Because insisting on returning to a normal life easily resonates a discourse we know from the ultra-right-wing media, like FOX News, and from Republican Trump politicians. So for the blue team, this is quite a step to take.
Whether you feel you show your sympathy or antipathy with a certain political approach, your hatred of authorities, or what opposition it is you want to express with your Covid behavior, Covid does not know politics or ethics. It looks for breeding grounds.
But if you have been vaccinated and have received your third shot. If you are wearing a mask and behave responsibly, you should once again freely meet the world.
Danish-American Eyes on Society 