The Basics

Although I was quite young, I think living today is becoming a lot like it was during World War II. And, by that, I mean that life then was just getting through the day without screwing anything up badly ... keeping body and soul together..

During those tough times we struggled to keep our houses warm in the winter without too much concern about all that coal smoke we produced. In the summer, air conditioning was accomplished with lots of ice and a fan. Movies were simpler yet more wistful. Racial tensions and gender politics were not top of mind. Life was just the basics ... food, clothing, shelter, religion.

Oh yes, we now have the internet to replace the morning paper ... and can watch Joe Scarborough froth at the mouth while we sip our coffee. But lots of diversions have now disappeared out of our lives ... at least for a while. No sports ... no going to the movies ... or out to dinner ... more complications in grocery shopping.

I have a feeling that, once this Wuhan virus thing has gone away, our lives will be completely different. We will be far less dependent on China for our manufacturing. Much more of our lives will be on-line. We will have a closer relation with Canada, Mexico, Great Britain ... maybe even Russia. We will have much more effective virus treatments. Unfortunately, many businesses will have disappeared. A lot of people will have new jobs. Carbon dioxide won’t be quite the bugaboo it recently was ... even if our climate actually changes a bit.

We, as a nation, might even start getting behind our president.