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I'm asking retirees because of the long view perspective that we retirees might have on this topic. Our parents and grandparents had common national experiences that challenged everyone and caused a solidarity that carried us through hardships and changed the psyche of the generation. In the early 1900s there were several (WW-I, Spanish flu) and later more (dust bowl, Great Depression) and then came WW-II. In my father's case, he seldom ever talked about the war (was at Bastogne and all across Germany and Berlin) probably because it was a common experience among his peers. Trying to explain or describe the Great Depression to a young person was difficult because they had no experience or frame of reference, but there was a lasting behavioral imprint on people from that time. We have not really had a similar recent single common experience (in 80 years, perhaps) on a national or global scale that brought a sense of solidarity until now with this pandemic experience.
It might be too soon to ask this question because we are still moving into the crisis but... Do you feel a sense of common experience and solidarity in this current pandemic challenge?
Perhaps with the exception the Spanish flu, all of what you mentioned did not involve social isolation and boredom. That is what we all face together. Boredom and social isolation.
I think you are right but it seemed to either be localized where the attacks took place (long term) or was short lived. There was a great deal of solidarity for months and it felt right but I recall going to Florida about six months later and meeting people there from NYC who were much more focused on it than the locals or midwesterners I was with. It is still a national memory.
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Originally Posted by Mr5150
Perhaps with the exception the Spanish flu, all of what you mentioned did not involve social isolation and boredom. That is what we all face together. Boredom and social isolation.
I think there is also the shock of everything being shut down on such quick notice and millions being out of work with no clue how long or if their job will even be there for them. Schools shut down and graduations postponed are going to be lasting memories with some consequences. I (and a lot of other people) was stuck in a foreign country and not sure how we were going to get home. A person can be healthy one day and be in ICU the next so there is a shock effect.
I remember as a kid during the Cuban Missile Crisis I went grocery shopping with my mom, the store was insane, people running throwing everything they could in their carts, some not even paying. A neighbor putting a bomb shelter in his back yard, everyone at night outside staring in the sky.
I’m sad for relatives who own small businesses. They are being screwed by the pandemic shutdown and by government incompetence with disbursing relief funds. We are witnessing another round of looting by the banks and connected cronies, and this one will make what happened in 2009 look penny-ante.
Thanks, jim9251. I had forgotten the Cuban Missile Crisis. I was a worker on an air base on the Gulf of Mexico. Big issues for the base, the workers, and the town. I wasn't exactly scared (too young) but I did pick up on the seriousness from the officers on the base. Things returned to normal pretty quickly. A few people did stockup on food.
I remember having evacuation drills by car from the grade school to a remote area in the county in the early 50s. The fear was an atomic bomb delivered by Russia. That went on for a couple of years.
Then the polio infections set in. I was old enough to witness my friends getting it, some dying. That was frightening.
I do feel we as Americans are not all on the same page much less the same book with the CV. I have been home since March 9th but after talking with a dozen friends (seniors), only two of us are truly self isolating. I may be jealous (or angry/can't figure it out) when I hear they are going to birthday parties, having potlucks, etc. Solidarity - no.
No I'm just watching a lot of craziness in our country and many others. Imho, this is just a man made crisis that could have been handled with a lot more sense. Now you have a whole country that has heard the cry of wolf and now are shaking in their boots, hiding under their blankies.
I'm asking retirees because of the long view perspective that we retirees might have on this topic. Our parents and grandparents had common national experiences that challenged everyone and caused a solidarity that carried us through hardships and changed the psyche of the generation. In the early 1900s there were several (WW-I, Spanish flu) and later more (dust bowl, Great Depression) and then came WW-II. In my father's case, he seldom ever talked about the war (was at Bastogne and all across Germany and Berlin) probably because it was a common experience among his peers. Trying to explain or describe the Great Depression to a young person was difficult because they had no experience or frame of reference, but there was a lasting behavioral imprint on people from that time. We have not really had a similar recent single common experience (in 80 years, perhaps) on a national or global scale that brought a sense of solidarity until now with this pandemic experience.
It might be too soon to ask this question because we are still moving into the crisis but... Do you feel a sense of common experience and solidarity in this current pandemic challenge?
A group of us had this conversation during an 'all classes' HS reunion in suburban NYC. Two months later 9/11 happened, and a number of our classmates perished. It felt as though the flag-waving, we will rebuild, USA#1 sentiment waned in parts of the country where citizens were not impacted by the loss of life -- be it loved ones, workmates, neighbors, etc.
Our current situation is impacting people across the globe, sparing no one. Unlike 9/11 there aren't bad guys trying to kill us. The virus is not picky. This event will be carried with us and will impact our behavior for years to come.
As far as national soldarity, I don't think that has happened since WWII and the Korean War. The whole country was united on those two wars. Opinions on all the other events since, civil rights, the assassinations of JFK/MLK/RFK, the Vietnam War, the Aids crisis, gay rights, 911, the mideast wars, have differed.
After the Warren Commission report was scrutinized a large segment of the people could no longer believe anything the government and media reported. That distrust has remained ever since. It has come to pass that the truth has become totally optional, an obsolete concept for many.
Being in the NY/NJ area, 911 brought us a feeling of solidarity in mourning the victims (probably a victim was no further than one degree of separation for all who lived and/or worked in NYC), but it didn't last. As the US epicenter of the virus I feel a sense of solidarity regarding the virus (everyone seems to know someone who has contracted the virus and are just one degree of separation from someone who died of it) but I don't expect the solidarity to last.
Most people are viewing everything, including the virus, through their red or blue lenses.
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