2020—The Year of Living Dangerously in a COVID‐19 World

Abstract

In my introduction to the March 2021 issue of the Quarterly, I referred to 2020 as a “perfect storm” of public health emergency, economic upheaval, long-simmering racial tensions, and civil unrest. George Floyd’s murder by convicted former police officer Derek Chauvin helped spark the Black Lives Matter movement, and forced many white Americans to confront the fact that racism permeates American society. However, despite this growing realization, violent hate crimes against Asian Americans1 and other minorities have escalated, and the health consequences of systemic racism continue to threaten Black communities.2 Even if one did not personally experience the ravages of acute COVID-19, the loss of a loved one, the desperation of financial hardship, or acts of racial hatred, hardly anyone came through last year untouched or unmoved by these events. Throughout 2020, our daily existence was often unnerving and dangerous. How one coped with COVID-19 and other challenges depended on one’s relative wealth, access to resources, and personal inclinations. Fear of infection drove many into seclusion and caused others to tread cautiously outside their homes, but seemed to have little effect on those who intrepidly risked danger. If one could afford it, contactless home delivery of groceries and almost everything else became the norm. Zoom and other internet platforms served as common media for maintaining contact with family members, friends, and co-workers. Avoiding large gatherings and observing discreet social distance in enclosed spaces became accepted rules of conduct, except for libertarian-minded folks who rebelled against infringement of individual rights. There was no middle ground, though, when it came to state-imposed mask mandates – people either embraced or abhorred them. For some, 2020 also will be remembered as the year of apocalyptic hoarding of critical food staples, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper at the expense of our neighbors’ access to those goods.