One year later, the search for lessons begins

There are lessons to be learned from the year of COVID-19. While we are still some time from being able to say the storm has passed over, we must begin searching for good that can come from this tragedy. First and foremost, government matters. It has not been fashionable to see local, state or federal government as the best solution to almost any problem. Since President Ronald Reagan made infamous the phrase “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help,” the desire for smaller government has been a driving force.

President Donald Trump’s focus on developing vaccines demonstrated the need for strong federal response to the pandemic, and then his administration failed abysmally to apply the lesson to the wider crisis. It was a failure that cost tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of lives and Trump himself the presidency.

State and local governments filled in the gaps over the last year, and the result sometimes seemed like, frankly, barely controlled chaos. Public health agencies, in particular, are fertile ground for increased investment. In Anne Arundel County, the health department — supported by Luminis Anne Arundel Medical Center, UM Baltimore Washington Medical Center, the state and firefighters — led the response to this crisis.

There is no reason to believe a robust health department cannot lead on problems of hunger, homelessness, mental health and gun violence that will continue to threaten the public after the virus eases.

Gaps between haves and haves-not showed in ways that could not be ignored. Long lines for emergency food support, spiking unemployment, fears of eviction and small business failures were a reality for many never before on the margin of the economy.

Churches, volunteer food pantries and emergency efforts to avert the most drastic consequences helped fill the gap. But the pandemic exposed the feeble ability of the social safety net to respond. That must change.

Increased support for families with children in President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief package is a start. So is help for small businesses. The cost of making help for families permanent is roughly $100 million a year, a price that sounds difficult — until you remember the Pentagon spends that on each F35 fighter jet.

Remote learning opens a whole new arena for public schools.

There are legitimate concerns about mental health of students stuck at home with only small family circles and the virtual classroom glow of a laptop screen for companionship. There will be success stories too. Both truths will force educators to rethink what school is going forward.

The same can be said of the workplace. If schools and office buildings become less important, though, what does that mean for the way most of us structure our lives and families?

It is clear that the voices that matter are those that seek solutions, not those that only seek to tear down others. Hostility over policy in the last year has been fierce, true locally and nationally. In the end, it was those who focused on the task and refused to be drawn into endless battles that proved effective. COVID is far from over, and lessons from the experience far from clear. The risk of infection remains high in Anne Arundel County and the number of residents with vaccinations low. That is true for Maryland and the nation as a whole.

Gov. Larry Hogan’s steps last week to reopen the economy came faster than many expected. It could be a great thing or the doorway to another surge. We hope it is a success. As the one-year mark of this crisis passes, however, everyone should expect bumps ahead. We also should be asking ourselves, what must change going forward?

It started off with, “Let’s go, no school for a month,” to, “never mind, this COVID-19 is the worst, and I want my life to come back to normal.” I am sure most students can relate.

After seeing the dramatic change covid caused, I started to find myself being COVID aware of what was going on, as a middle schooler.

From cases to death, to learning what the CDC is, to small business closing, to the whole thing about paper tissue, to hand sanitizing, masking up, to BLM protest, to the first day of online school, and all of the above. There was just so much going on, and I know those were challenging times.

My hope for the future is not just for everything to go back to normal, but for us as a community to come out from this COVID, with a better version and understanding of who we are as a community.

Michelle Fadele, Pasadena

“Zoom” became part of my vocabulary. There were Zooms for friends, family, my book club and chorale members. What were the good things that came out of the pandemic? I read more, played the piano frequently and phoned more friends and family.

My granddaughter was married, just a week before Gov. Larry Hogan placed a limit on the number of people who could gather in one place. My great-grandson was born in Colorado.

Now he is in San Diego and one of my hopes for the future is to be able to fly to meet him!

Life goes on and I feel blessed.

Ann Hewitt, Galesville