Kelly Clarkson --and Friedrich Nietzsche--Are Right

Pundits have observed that the spirit of America has been resurrected due to the coronavirus.

Messages of unity and compassion--"we're all in this together," "we will survive"--are delivered by politicians, media outlets, corporations, and religious organizations.  Every day our hearts swell in response to uplifting stories about acts of person-to-person kindness or outreach initiatives by groups and organizations that minister to the needs of our most vulnerable.  We have a newfound appreciation for and respect for our front-line workers:  the grocery store clerks, the transit operators, the police and other public service officials, the delivery workers, , our dedicated health services professionals--and all the custodians and maintenance personnel who come to campus every day to be sure that it will be ready for our eventual return.  "We haven't been this unified against a common cause since World War II," observed one reporter.

But, ultimately, the fight against coronavirus is intensely personal.  We are a social animal, and the isolation that is necessary to fight off a disease against which we have no herd immunity is antithetical to who we are and how we've been conditioned our entire lives--for generations--to value community and proximity to each other.  To stop "cold turkey" and isolate ourselves in our homes, either alone or with family, is completely foreign to us.  We're all used to being on campus, working face-to-face with students, engaging with each other's lives--and now we're trying to communicate and do the business of the College via Zoom and VPN access, 

However, I'm finding, in the stories of resilience, whether it is facing and overcoming personal struggles or contributing to relief efforts, that having to rely on one's self is important because...well, there's no other options.  For example, I'm learning to cook because I cannot live forever on door-to-door delivery.  My wife, Trish, is making face masks for health providers because she has the skills and the local hospital was caught in a spiral of back-orders.  My neighbor has signed up to do on-tutoring for grade school children to supplement their at-home studies.

In our day-to-day efforts to establish a sense of normalcy and to be productive,  Kelly Clarkson is right.  In her anthem for individual strength and empowerment*, she asserts

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

Stand a little taller

Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone

What doesn't kill you makes a fighter

Footsteps even lighter

Hopefully, you all are feeling the same way.  When we reach the end of this tunnel, when we come out of the surrealness that is our daily life, we will emerge as fighters--and that will make for a stronger, more compassionate America.

*"Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)."   From the album "Stronger," distributed in 2011 by RCA Records.  Written by Jörgen Elofsson, Ali Tamposi, and David Gamson, with additional writing and production by Greg Kurstin.  With thanks to German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: "That which does not kill us makes us stronger."