The 23rd of March marks the anniversary of the 1st lockdown, of the ‘before times’. A time when all the shops, gyms, hairdressers, pubs, bars, restaurants and nightclubs were able to open and be full of people. The words 'social distancing’ were only just starting to be said in whispered tones. So what have we learned about ourselves the last 12 months during this Covid pandemic?
Well for starters we learned that there is a vast majority of people out there that only care about themselves and how lockdowns affected them. The ones who hoarded toilet paper and pasta a year ago, the ones who kept breaking the rules by having weekend parties, the ones that didn't give two shits about the health or safety of anyone but themselves and their friends and family. The ones who immediately bought a lanyard so they didn’t have to wear a fucking mask even though they knew deep down they were simply playing the system. Which made people who had genuine reason to not wear a mask look like they were simply working their ticket like the selfish ones.
We also had confirmation that most humans do not like being told what to do, that they REALLY detest rules (even when they are for good reason.) We also got confirmation in glorious technicolor that there is a large number of people who have all the commonsense and intelligence of the common house brick, that they will not listen to reason and will reject any evidence if it does not fit their world view.
You know….. The morons.
Many places such as nightclubs have been closed for a year now. Businesses have been desperately trying to survive by any means they can, while governments around the world use this as an excellent opportunity to line the pockets of their rich friends. Performers, musicians, actors, all have been unable to work the last year. Yet when things are back to what passes for a version of normal we shall expect them to ‘hit the ground running’ and be just as sharp as they were a year ago. But the thing is, people will be rusty.
As some sort of ‘normal’ approaches it's worth remembering a few things. This no matter how ‘normal’ we aspire them to be will ever be quite the same again. Many people have lost loved ones in the last year, and it will certainly be interesting to watch encounters between those people and the selfish ones who disobeyed every law and rule the last year and had parties every weekend. I can’t see it being a nice conversation.
A lot of people will see others who they may have known well before all this in a totally different light. So if you have been one of the morons, do not be overly surprised when people you know remember your selfish behaviour and how it affected others that you gave no thought to, maybe do not really want to be as close or friendly to you as they used to be.
But a bottom line is also that restrictions cannot go on much longer as we are approaching the point where the fallout for other serious illnesses will be just as great, or greater than covid. Small businesses have had the bare minimum of help and often not enough to even cover running costs of being closed. The fact the government refused to back small businesses that wanted to claim against their insurance to protect their mates in the square mile should never be forgotten.
Economically the UK is on the floor, and my many other countries are as bad or worse. But one light at the end of the tunnel is that people now realise the things that are most important to THEM. Creative people such as musicians have often been sitting writing new songs, songs we may not hear for a few years that could change the face of modern music. Artists have been making art and in some cases having amazing changes of style. People have been writing scripts, polishing up their skills. We have finally realized that a great many people can work from home (after being told for years that it simply was not possible in many fields.)
So there have been some positive points to all this. From a personal point of view I’ve recorded well over 30 songs, released my first album in a fair few years, changed the style of my playing not once, but twice, made 15 music videos, changed jobs and been more creative than I have been in a long time. I’ve not just sat on my hands. The best way to keep depression at bay is to keep busy, the more time you have to live in your own head, the more chance there is of your brains finding its own amusement.
I find it ironic that I am one of those people that many (myself included) assumed would fall apart in a spectacular way during the pandemic. I’d assumed my depression would go into overdrive and I’d end up in a very bad place. But it turns out I am far more resilient than I ever gave myself credit for, or many others gave me credit for. Ironically in some cases the ones who have had the biggest problem have been those many assumed would cope ‘just fine’. Which shows yet again, never judge a book by its cover.
I hope that when I read this a year from now in 2022 that the world is a different and better place, that things have gotten back to a normal pattern that we can all live with and that our lives are starting to really get back on track. Lets just hope the human race learned the important lessons from all of this. So let's never forget what we all went through.
