Were Covid-19 to result in a dramatic rise in telecommuting, the ramifications of many more people working from home could be profound. Exorbitant real estate pricing in cities could flatten as living near work no longer becomes a priority. High air pollution indexes might subside and traffic fatalities fall with fewer people on the roads, raising life expectancy. With less national demand, the price of oil (gas) might decrease. Time and money no longer spent commuting may be spent both in spending on healthier eating and on engaging in leisure activities - yoga courses, bicycling - which promote well-being, thus eliminating and/or decreasing underlying conditions detrimental to longevity. Family time could be increased, strengthening bonds, benefiting children, and ultimately reducing crime. Our current appreciation for first responders and for teachers may be sustained so that at future municipal elections we vote to make the small sacrifices that will increase funding and better the lives of those people we now recognize as heroes. The spirit of community we now feel passionately - that we stay at home to benefit others - may prevail to remind us even after we have crawled from our fox holes our elderly and infirm neighbors require our support and compassion on humdrum days, on every day, resulting in their better care, in the decrease of their loneliness and neglect.
These possibilities are idyllic, and thus unlikely. And yet we are America. We are Americans. We do not falter in the face of adversity; the vast majority of us have sheltered in place to protect our fellow-citizens while also reaching out to our neighbors, donating to our local nonprofits, supportIng our restaurants, making masks for our first responders. We will - we inevitably will - survive and ultimately conquer the coronavirus. And while not all of the aforementioned positive results will come from our battle, history will show that our perseverance and selfless dedication to the good of the community will have rewards beyond our mere victory over the virus.
Were Covid-19 to result in a dramatic rise in telecommuting, the ramifications of many more people working from home could be profound. Exorbitant real estate pricing in cities could flatten as living near work no longer becomes a priority. High air pollution indexes might subside and traffic fatalities fall with fewer people on the roads, raising life expectancy. With less national demand, the price of oil (gas) might decrease. Time and money no longer spent commuting may be spent both in spending on healthier eating and on engaging in leisure activities - yoga courses, bicycling - which promote well-being, thus eliminating and/or decreasing underlying conditions detrimental to longevity. Family time could be increased, strengthening bonds, benefiting children, and ultimately reducing crime. Our current appreciation for first responders and for teachers may be sustained so that at future municipal elections we vote to make the small sacrifices that will increase funding and better the lives of those people we now recognize as heroes. The spirit of community we now feel passionately - that we stay at home to benefit others - may prevail to remind us even after we have crawled from our fox holes our elderly and infirm neighbors require our support and compassion on humdrum days, on every day, resulting in their better care, in the decrease of their loneliness and neglect.
These possibilities are idyllic, and thus unlikely. And yet we are America. We are Americans. We do not falter in the face of adversity; the vast majority of us have sheltered in place to protect our fellow-citizens while also reaching out to our neighbors, donating to our local nonprofits, supportIng our restaurants, making masks for our first responders. We will - we inevitably will - survive and ultimately conquer the coronavirus. And while not all of the aforementioned positive results will come from our battle, history will show that our perseverance and selfless dedication to the good of the community will have rewards beyond our mere victory over the virus.