Human beings’ greatest strength lies in our ability to adapt to new things.
This is why doomsday scenarios never occur as predicted. In 1968 overpopulation was feared to destroy the world, the coming of the ice age was predicted and the world’s oil supply was supposed to run out by 1992. None of this came close to happening. Humans know how to adapt.
Today the appearance of doom is palpable at every turn. I watched five minutes of Morning Joe on MSNBC and was greeted with the headline that in America there are now 557,000 cases of COVID-19 and 22,000 deaths as a result.
The panel of experts and anchors focused on the loss of solvency in most American families, the rising unemployment rates and that we were nowhere close to righting the ship.
This is alarming to say the least. Death is traumatic as is the inability to work. And what is even more alarming is that we are actually seeing that the entire culture which America has built up over the last 250 years has essentially come to a grinding halt.
We have never seen anything quite like this.
It’s no wonder that people are anxious, hypervigilant and avoidant. These are the standard symptom formations seen in post-traumatic stress victims. It is no exaggeration to say that the entire nation has been traumatized and remains in shock.
I typically remain undaunted by all this, since I’m forever focused on my patients and my writing deadlines. So off I went to my bank to withdraw some cash.
I knew that I should have called in advance since they were shut down except for 4 hours on Monday morning but I figured let’s give it a try. I peered inside the locked bank in the midst of a rainstorm and I suppose they took pity on me and they let me in.
I noticed that the place was empty of customers and I remarked to the bank manager that he must be bored to death with nothing to do all day long.
He said “No I’ve actually been busy. I think we all needed this time to catch up on things and have a bit of a breather.” Fair statement.
I then proceeded to go to the bakery and get a quiche Lorraine for breakfast. When I walked in I noticed that the cases were filled but I was the only customer in sight.
Indeed the folks behind the counter were masked but they had their usual good manners and kindness on display, seemingly un-phased by the way the world has come to a halt.
So what we have on our hands is the moment of truth.
The Jean Auel bestseller “Clan of the Cave Bears” was about our species moment of truth back in 18,000 B.C. when the polar ice caps were receding in Europe.
Neanderthals were in charge but a new species called Cro-Magnon were emerging as their rival. Cro-Magnons were smaller and weaker then Neanderthals but had bigger brains and were able to adapt and learn faster.
This marked the end of Neanderthals and the beginning of what would become us. Cro-Magnons emerged because they adapted. Jean Auel described Neanderthals as having a better long term memory but they became stuck in the past as a result. Cro-Magnon’s were able to adapt to ever-changing conditions.
And that is the great secret strength of America. We know how to adapt.
Compared to countries in Asia and Europe we are the brand new baby on the block. Asian nations are all at least 5,000 years old. European nations have roots that are at least 2,000 years old.
This gives them a plodding nature as well as a reverence for their past. America is a present and future-oriented place. The home of the brave and the land of the free. We are an extremely creative people and we more than perhaps any nation on earth are able to adapt to changing times.
Maybe this is our moment of truth. The world is now on full shut down. It awaits its rebirth. I guarantee that the leader of the rebirth will be us.
We more than any other country are the ones who are adaptive. We are the creative ones. This is why our entertainment industry is the envy of the world. And why we lead the world in science, in the arts and in finance.
Our nature is to quickly adapt to new things.
COVID-19 is a new sinister thing straight out of nature but I seriously doubt it is any match for the American brain.
We are already adapting in the way medical doctors interact with patients via telemedicine. We are adapting to the way we get food delivered and the way we interact. We will adapt to the new economic situation. And when we get to the other side of this thing we will have created a better world. Just you watch.
