A BETTER OR WORSE WORLD?

Columnists at odds over life after the coronavirus

Coronavirus has brought tragedy to families and havoc to communities. In the long run, can the crisis make us healthier in body, spirit and economic well- being? Or will it heighten all that’s wrong with theworld? DanHaar, Hearst columnist and associate editor, and ColinMcEnroe, Hearst contributing columnist, hash it out here.

Hey Colin—

I’ve been thinking aboutwherewe’re headed as a state and nation andworld five years out. Funny thing, the future came to mind just nowwhen you called to tell me about the latest protest at the governor’s mansion. Sheesh, people are dying in a contagious bio- Armageddon, never a great sign to begin with. Nowwe have horn- honkers wailing like toddlers to make everything go back theway it was. Damn the mortal risk to millions, damn community values. Looking ahead, we’re hopelessly cleaved. But no. To me these annoying blowbackers point, ironically, to a betterworld coming out of this mess. When a stable normal arrives, we’ll all have a sharp appreciation for the glue that holds us together. We’ll never again take for granted the simple act of buying an apple at the farmers market or seeing George Clinton at Toad’s one more time before he dies, not to mention hugging our own grown kids. That’sworth something as a building block for the 2020s in the sameway that our parents came out ofWorldWar II valuing freedom – and built theworldwe live in. Overcoming fear, sharing sacrifice, spending trillions of dollars to defeat an enemy, all that tends to unify us in away that sparks the national spirit and the economy. Those reopen- the- state rallies are small and their message isn’t the stuff of the culture wars that divides us, like race and immigration and guns. Their point is, we need small businesses and public life. We all agree on that point, and so in aweird sensewe’re pulling together. That’s a great sign for the future.

Seriously, Dan—

Stable normal? Social glue? Unify? Are you and I bothwatching the same movie? ( And let’s be honest: neither one of uswas ever aworld- class hugger.) For thatmatter, aren’t there – at minimum – two sets of Americanswatching the same movie in very different states of mind? There is somuchwe don’t knowabout the American scene, 3 to 5 years out, and one of those unknowns iswhether “American scene” will even be a thing. The odds of secession are higher than they’ve been in 150 years, even to the point of states organizing into regional satellites. George Costanza said the key to a successful loving relationship is for each person to secretly think they’re getting away better deal. Presumably the reverse of that is the road to divorce. We’re even starting to have “the talk.” Lastweek Trump, McConnell and Florida’s Rick Scott complained about bailing out poorly run blue states, AndrewCuomo and ChrisMurphy fired back aboutwhich states take money from the federal till andwhich ones put it in. You better sit down, kids. The virus didn’t unite us. It showed us howdifferentwe are. P. S. Speaking of “stable normal,” do you suppose thatwhen Trump claimed to be a stable genius, he meant the kind of geniuswhoworks in a stable, shoveling horsesh… Never mind.

Whoa, Colin—

I agree it looks bad nowwith Trump and McConnell pushing the blue states to the brink on federal aid. Don’tworry, that’s just one passing regime. Sincewhen in all the yearswe’veworked together have you seen disgruntled political factions as a sign of apocalypse? You’re big on 1,000 voices, right? Lookwhat’s happening with the seven northeast states creating a rational plan to reopen. That’s making the best of a lousy hand and it’s a model for the future. If this nation has aweakness, it’s a naïve belief in its own power to keep regenerating itself. All empires run out of steam sooner or later. And Trump’s divisiveness points toward America’s demise. But not yet, and not because of this crisis. We maywell come out of this with something like theNew Deal of the ‘ 30s or the 60s Great Society. That’swhat Yale economist andNobel laureate Robert Shiller suggested a few weeks ago: Narratives of community values and survival could lead to a friendlier society with less income inequality, maybe even driven by federal policies to spread thewealth. We’re seeing it nowin the checks for everyone and the bailout for small business. Flawed as that program has been, it’s helping. George Costanza? Howabout a lesson from that earlier TV comedy sidekick, EdNorton from theHoneymooners. After a roller skating meltdown, the obese Ralph Kramdenwas humiliated and angry. Norton – Art Carney, from Connecticut – just started laughing. Ralph, Ed, Trixie and Alice all cracked up and shouted out long- ago youthful moments as a roadmap for growing older. Coronavirus can send the nation in that direction.

Comeon, Dan—

You really mean it? My 45- year- old E. F. Schumacher dream of an equitable, sustainableworld economy based on the inherentworth of every human being is finally coming true? And all it tookwas a global pandemic? Huzzah! No, save that for the next rubewho rolls off the haywagon. This looks a lot like another American Revolutionwhere the power and resources remain, when the gunsmoke clears, in the hands of a slightly rearranged group of plutocrats. Look at the evidence. Start with the colossal disconnect and hubris of the big playerswho lined up for ( and got!) the unforgivable forgivable loans nominally aimed andmomand pop small businesses. Itwasn’t just Ruth’s Chris and the Lakers. IDT Corp. ( theHoward Jonas telcom) got $ 10 million, LegacyHousing Corp ( manufacturer of doublewides and oilfieldwork force living units) got $ 6.7 million, AutoNation ( a chain of dealershipswith $ 21 billion in annual revenue) got $ 77 million! Yes, they’re giving it back. They heard the roll of the tumbrels and thewhack of hammers building gallows.