We Are All In This Together

We are in the beginning stages of a pandemic. We do not know how bad it will get, how long it will last or what the consequences will be for us, for our loved ones, for our country, and indeed for the whole world. There is unspoken fear and panic in invisible evidence, just like the coronavirus itself. What will happen to the economy, to our jobs and monetary situation? How will this virus change our lives? There are as yet no answers. They are silently located in the near future, which is inexorably approaching. We are forced into a mandatory sabbatical where we must reassess our values, what matters and what does not. And twin realities will quickly stand out: all we really have is today; and just as importantly, all we really have are each other.

These twin facts can lead to two possible positive outcomes to this nightmare, from which there is no waking up. First: since all we really have is today, we will come more fully into the present, making today count. We will realize with greater intensity just how fleeting, how non-repeatable is each and every day. And second: we will recognize how special, even sacred is each and every loved one. Therefore, today is the day to love and be loved. Then hopefully, looking around our neighborhood, we will grasp that others feel the same way we do.

This can lead to a third possible positive outcome: the realization that, “We are all in this together.” Though we have to practice “social distancing,” we are nevertheless all in the same situation, namely, together. This sense of common life, of all being in the same situation together, is central to the military mentality. As a former Marines and National Guard chaplain, I can attest to the importance of, the power of, “we.” In the military, you are a member of a unit. Like a team sport, it is the well-being and success of the unit which matter most. The sense of “we” is about as real as the sense of self and others. While serving, you are a part of something greater than yourself, something worth living for, and if necessary, worth dying for.

Why is this vivid sense of “we” so vital and needed today in our country and beyond? It will assuredly bring back some desperately needed civility. In this pandemic we all find ourselves in the midst of, it does not matter whether you are a democrat or republican, white or black, religious or atheist, gay or straight. We are all in this together. We find ourselves with a common, invisible yet invasive enemy, which not only could sicken us, but could take our lives. This new reality forces us to look not only at ourselves, but at others a bit differently. We find ourselves suddenly sharing in the unspoken sense of common vulnerability to this new viral evil, unable to control what may come about. We are forced into a strange communal isolation – alone together, at least three feet apart. We wonder, “Do I have the virus?” “Will I give others the virus?” “Will others give me the virus?”

A fourth possible positive outcome is the communal humbling the virus brings about. It levels the playing field. Social standing is rendered irrelevant. Wealth, popularity, good looks, whatever nameable attributes we may possess will not avail us in the least in the face of this common enemy. We are all equally human together, all on the same footing. This makes it more difficult to be critical towards, to judge each other, to maintain the barricades of social prejudice. Why? We are all in this together. And we will get through this together. Even closer together.