Is the party over? - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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By Robert Urbanek
#15116092
The party was over. As I sit rereading The Great Gatsby amid the COVID-19 lockdowns, that phrase sticks with me . . . we’ve all got a chance to do some soul-searching about what really matters, a chance to reflect on just exactly what the “party” was and whether we want to resume it when life returns to normal. Popularity, pleasure, success start to feel pretty empty when I can’t have a beer with my best friend or hug my mom. — Kelly Scott Franklin, The National Review, June 1, 2020.

Has the pandemic changed your perspective on what is important in life? Have you become less materialistic or less ambitious? Or perhaps you think COVID-19 was a conspiracy to destroy the American Way of Life and you are ready to return to business as usual.
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By Puffer Fish
#15116146
due to the particular circumstances of my life (which I will not go into details here), the pandemic-associated shutdown has not really altered my life much at all.

If anything, it is forcing other people to live more as how I have been living.

However, I do also see this as somewhat of a delay and hindrance in the way of personal goals to make change in my life.

For me personally, it sort of feels like adding one small thing on top of so much else.
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By MistyTiger
#15116168
I never live to party. However, I live and I want to enjoy my life. I enjoy laughter, good food and good people in my life.

I think the pandemic has made me more focused on my health and my future goals. I feel just as ambitious as ever. These things can help me deal with the fear and adjustments I face due to the pandemic. I am more aware of human frailty and health issues. I have to believe that my family and I can survive through this dark time.

Someday life will resume a bit more like normal. I miss crowds. I miss being at fairs. I miss handshakes and hugs. I even miss in person meetings in the conference room.
#15116189
The pandemic has hit me on a gut level with a number of truths that had previously been just intellectual curiosities.

* Hyper-fragility. We're organized in such a way that even minor interruptions of supply can have devastating consequences.

* Incompetence. The ruling oligarchy doesn't know how to make the trains run on time, keep the spice flowing, yada yada. We can't find housing for people, provide them with healthcare, nor provide an environment that doesn't drive people to anger and lashing out at each other.

* Nation-states aren't forever. They have a natural life/death cycle. We're at the tag end of ours.

* Our economic system is extremely unstable and actively hostile to the well-being of a majority of its citizens.

* Residents of liberal democracies are subject to the same kind of state violence we see in other countries.

* There's a substantial number of Americans who are looking forward to doing harm to their neighbors.
By Atlantis
#15116195
Personally, I have no problem with the pandemic since I have never led a particularly materialistic life. We now live in a remote rural area where we could quarantine for years since we grow most of our own food. The lockdown has been great since we don't even see airplanes in the sky now. It's as quiet as in pre-industrial times. People may never be able to experience this again.

For society, it will never be the same again. Many jobs will be destroyed, but new jobs will be created in other sectors. The deniers will be ruined while those who adapt will prosper. Mass tourism is a curse anyways; a decline can only be welcomed. There will still be opportunities for quality tourism, which will be more expensive, but people don't have to go on a holiday abroad two or three times a year. Home office work will increase, but many of these jobs will be transferred to low-wage emerging and developing countries.

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