We are all experiencing something that feels like a bad dream as a result of the coronavirus. The world is swirling about us in a bizarre manner. This experience is similar to what Nita in The Healer’s Dream encounters. The primary difference is that Nita was periodically able to reengage with reality. We are left to drift only in surreality.
One of Nita’s encounters in The Healer’s Dream is with the 1918 pandemic. I imagine that many readers–up until recently–only had a vague awareness of what was known as the Spanish Influenza. Despite the fact that that pandemic killed perhaps 50 million people, it was largely erased from the history books. Some experts speculate that is because it was too painful to remember. Others believe it was erased because it was so horribly handled.
We can only hope that the current threat is better handled. So far some countries seem capable of doing so, South Korea most notably. The U.S. on the other hand is not showing such capability. Both its preparedness and its response are lacking.
The bumbling at the federal level seriously undermines people’s confidence. This is a major problem because the two horses that ride ahead of the actual illness are Fear and Financial impacts. Until trust can be earned, those two horses will continue to run free. There are huge consequences from this dynamic regardless of what the virus actually does.
Gil Meyer 