Yes, the pandemic is global, but the result at the national and local level has been a retreat. Our response to extremely pressing global issues has been way too slow in any case, so it is appropriate to use the metaphor of a snail pulling back into its shell. America is retreating into its shell. China is retreating, too. The UK is pulling back, too.
Here in the U.S., Trump's isolationism is strengthened by the pandemic. I wonder if that is why he did his best to let the virus spread unchecked. A big question now is what will happen when the vaccines get us "back to normal". Will we poke our heads out? Or just maybe, will we begin to really apply ourselves vigorously at the national and city levels to the great global issues of climate change and wildlife loss and growing inequality, no more as snails, but now as dynamic and intelligent human communities that recognize our unity. Order out of chaos!
#international #UnitedStates #nuclear_disarm #together
