Pandemic

The coronovirus has revealed how fragile our seemingly invincible human world order is. Amazon no longer arrives tomorrow; it takes a month. The wealth of entertainment options has shrunk to those available at home. Travel plans have been cancelled or altered. Many are without the comfort and security provided by regular employment. Churches are shuttered, and factories stilled. For all intents and purposes, we are united against our invisible virus enemy by the hashtag #StayHome.

Of course, to some, the coronavirus is no big deal. The common cold kills X number of people per year, and we don’t shut everything down! Think of the damage to the economy! Of course, this is being rather selective; the coronavirus, unlike the common cold, is not a known quantity. It’s the unknown, upper limit of the new disease that is terrifying, rather than whatever statistics we end up with. We’ve gathered enough information to know that we are right to fear what could happen. Christians in particular, I hope, would resist arguments that accept death as a necessary cost to keep money flowing.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, many people behave as though we are suddenly to demonstrate absolute and uncritical conformity to government ideas about “safety.” People post hashtags, strictures and advertisements that wouldn’t look out of place in a fictional dystopia. Politicians make martial analogies that lend themselves easily to thinking of fellow citizens as “collaborators” with the enemy. Self appointed enforcers lecture others for transgressing against the coronavirus by daring to exercise even the limited freedoms we have during the pandemic. My city, Toronto, has setting up a website for citizens to become government informants. That way they can catch the enemy collaborators in their sinister use of public parks. A few ridiculous stories have surfaced of people clearly posing no danger receiving tickets from overzealous bylaw officers, such as the $880 fine for a family rollerblading in an empty parking lot. Many people spend time online shaming anyone or anything that they think poses a risk, including those who disagree critically with the government’s approach. The coronavirus seems to have brought out the worst in many people in this regard.

Of course, the real road, I think, lies somewhere in the middle. I’m bemused by those who think that, for the first time in the history of the world, left and right, democracy and dictatorship have immediately rallied behind a “hoax” or exaggeration. I’m also shocked at how many people embrace #StayHome without exercising critical thinking, or the number of health advertisements that remind me of communist state propaganda.

Yes, stay home, stay safe, help others. While doing those things, put your thinking cap on.

So much has happened in this time that bears thinking about. In the West, for instance, we have a tradition of religious freedom. What does it mean that the government has shut down our churches? Certainly, it was the right call (I don’t think anyone in their right mind can convincingly argue otherwise) but should the government be the one to make that call? Freedom of assembly has been another traditional freedom in the West. What does it mean that government now exercises the authority to forbid us to gather, even with immediate family?

When sickness and disease come again in the future (as they surely will) how bad does it have to get before the government can restrict our freedoms? In other words, what’s the minimum threshold for the government to gain the powers it exercises now? How long can a government keep restrictions like these in place? As our economy opens up, can the government really open business while keeping churches closed?

What do individual politicians mean by advocating for a “new normal”? If there’s one truism of our world, it is that disasters provide ample fodder for those looking to make radical changes, for good or for ill. Who is looking to take advantage, and how?

These are legitimate questions that should not be shouted down, even as we should all do our part to stop the pandemic. Having a common goal does not mean we suspend critical thinking about the means. What benefit would we get from saving everyone from the virus, only to lose our souls in the process?

Of course, for Christians, the one silver lining amidst all these trials is that the fragility of our world order serves as a poignant object lesson. It reminds those of us who follow Christ where our true hope lies. It is not in the metaphorical kings and princes of this world, nor even their vaccines (though we certainly hope for and help work toward one of those), but in Jesus Christ. In that sense, our world has been in a state of emergency since the Fall. The scale and scope of the government response to controlling the coronavirus should inspire us to remember that the pandemic of sin calls for no less drastic measures. Our world needs intelligent people fully committed to fighting both battles in the right way. Let’s pray God gives us the grace to do so.