Collapse
A domino effect can reveal a lot. Right now it feels like that is happening. COVID-19 is still here and over the last couple of months it has prompted major changes which have led to more changes. Things we haven’t paid much attention to in the past have come to light. Systems have been and continue to be tested. Infrastructures too. The way the world is is being reexamined. Right now might be a good time to imagine if the world was made of only glass and everyone was able to see each other and through everything. What would be revealed? Transparency, it’s happening at various degrees and levels. How far will we get with it?
Let’s take New York City for example. It has been known to be dirty and gross. With filthy streets, trash all over the place, and seemingly uncared-for public transit. Sure, there are spaces that look pristine, sparkling even, but those are normally newer buildings, maybe high-end stores, even certain parks sometimes, few and far between. But most of the public areas are just not clean. There is an obviousness to this, but somehow an acceptance too. It’s become so common, so normal, that many may even defend and say that it’s not that bad. That it could be worse. That it used to be worse. It’s almost like the grime has been downplayed. Or just compared to an even filthier time in the past to justify where it’s at right now. Instead of really understanding what it means to be sanitary, having higher standards, and focusing on a clean environment for all the smog has almost been elevated with statements like, “It gives the City character!” “This is New York City for you, like no other city in the world!” And then when COVID-19 cases went up and up and up and NYC became the epicenter of this coronavirus pandemic all of a sudden people didn’t know why this happened? It came out of nowhere, right? Really?
When a city is not taken care of by the government, the people in it, the tourists visiting it, and when it just feels dirty and it looks like no one cares nor wants to try to keep it clean why should anyone volunteer to pick up after millions of people, after millions of trails of trash? When a place is dirty it’s easier to add to the dirt instead of clean it up. Or just disregard it. When a place is clean without any trash in sight it’s much harder to be the odd one and throw something on the ground and leave it. Instead it’s easier to maintain it. These ideas are basic.
When it comes to NYC it’s just dirty and it feels dirty, congested too. Sure, not everyone is actively participating in making it dirtier, but many have grown accustomed to what it is and just carry on as they would in other places, cleaner places. Whether it be touching doorknobs, handrails, sitting on benches, stairs, the ground, or just doing things one might do in a carefree way somewhere else. Many pretend NYC is clean enough despite all the germs and bacteria that are living on surfaces and being constantly transferred from place to place to place due to a lack of care, cleaning, and sanitation. “Did a million people really touch that doorknob before me?” “Do benches really not get cleaned after every sit or after people step on them with their shoes on for no reason?” “Are people actually still going out when they are sick, taking public transit, touching handrails, sneezing without covering their mouth, sneezing covering their mouth with their bare hands and then holding on to a pole tightly with those same hands?” Wait, why would any of those things be thought of, right? Why focus on all that when there’s life to live, right? Here’s another way to think, “It’s been years and I’m fine doing what I’ve been doing, why should I worry now, my habits are good.” Or, “What are my options? Move out to the mountains? Stay home? Don’t touch anything, ever? I’ll take my chances.”
But now what happens when a virus emerges and begins to spread through the air and by living on surfaces for a certain amount of time? Ugliness. Mass amounts of people get infected like rapid fire. And then the lack of sanitation that seemingly has been neglected and overlooked maybe comes to light a bit. All of a sudden there are orders to sanitize subways more often than before, recommendations to wash your hands a lot, to wear face masks, et cetera. So what was everyone doing before? Not cleaning the subways of NYC? Were people not washing their hands and then touching doorknobs, grocery items, clothes at clothing stores, et cetera with dirty filthy hands? Was that what was normal? Breathing on each other, coughing in the air like no one cares? Why were we not cleaner as a whole in the first place? How many deaths could have been avoided? How much more control would we have over this virus? Had we just cleaned up after ourselves and had NYC focused on having cleaner streets and public spaces, how would things have been different? Should’ve, could’ve, would’ve, but didn’t, right? Well, maybe now can be a start. Because better now rather than never, right?
Cause and effect. Let’s further get into it, with nonessential businesses being closed in NYC and a lack of tourism, a lack of people on the streets, what has been brought to light? From recent news the homeless community is shining right now, and not in a good way. Many have gone underground to the subways to camp out there. And they’ve somewhat taken over. With no one above ground to give them money what business do they have there, especially during inclement weather conditions? But here’s the thing, the problem isn’t them necessarily being in the subways, instead it’s the lack of respect many are showing. From throwing trash all over the ground to annoying other passengers to sleeping on the seats with their shoes on, maybe even putting a foot on a pole that someone may be touching later on, so disgusting. Don’t let me get into where some are going to use the bathroom, or not going. Imagine urine on, wait, no, don’t imagine that. In short, some of the homeless in the trains right now are making them filthier and filthier, on purpose, preparing a prime environment for a virus to spread. The original problem was the spread of the coronavirus, hence NYC going on PAUSE and closing nonessential businesses to help stop the spread. But that caused homeless people to spend more time in subways, maybe even in a dirtier way than before because of the space they felt they were given, and simply because they can. Effect. And now there’s a new problem: The MTA workers that deal with the nonsense and the essential workers taking subways to go to work, whether it be a hospital, grocery store, et cetera. They are now at a high risk of getting the virus from their commute! Another effect. And if they get the virus they can unknowingly spread it to their colleagues, hence the spread may continue and have a domino effect. People can fall one by one, societies can crumble.
If new problems aren’t solved as they develop things can continue to get worse. As more people get the disease and as more hospitalizations begin to emerge, so does less space. Capacity can max out. And hospital personnel can be even more at risk of getting the disease. And if they do and end up not having the strength to work and treat patients, instead becoming patients themselves, then what? What if a hospital’s staff gets down to only a few nurses and then none? Then what? What if more and more people get sick without anywhere to go for treatment, then what?
There can be a collapse in so many ways across the world. Right now there is still strength and a lot of it. There are more people who aren’t infected with the virus than those who are. And we do not need to head to a complete downfall. But to do so it’s important to be aware of the waves that are going across the world and across your neighborhood as new ideas are implemented and orders are made. The purpose of an order may very well be to keep people safe and protected, but what other effects might an order do that can cause hazard in other areas and danger that might make things worse. Let’s not collapse, let’s look at the cause and effect of each thing, let’s fix problems that can come from problems that are thought to have been solved. With what is being revealed let’s take a closer look at it, what can we learn and let’s think what should actually be done? What can each of us do? What can we ask others to do? How much participation should we have? How much can we help each other? How do we not collapse as a world, as a country, as a state, as a town, as a family?
