This Is Us
Confessions of a Reformed Coronavirus Skeptic
Humans like easy answers — even if those answers contradict the facts
I’ve been pretty hard on climate change deniers over the past several years, ever since I woke up to the real danger it poses to our way of life and maybe our very existence. Since then, I have come to believe that a collapse of industrial civilization — whether prolonged or sudden — is inevitable.
And yet, I have to admit that, just a few months ago, I was a denier. I didn’t deny the reality of climate change. I denied the reality of the coronavirus.
I had heard about the coronavirus, of course. But it was in China—far away from us. And then Italy, somewhat harder to dismiss. But it didn’t seem like anything I needed to worry about. Certainly not something that would alter my day-to-day existence.
A certain doctor, a fellow congregant at my Unitarian church, was very concerned about it. One Sunday, seemingly out of the blue, he refused to shake anyone’s hand and urged everyone else to do the same, casting around disapproving looks as most everyone carried on like normal, shaking hands, hugging, not social distancing. I thought he was being overly dramatic. I went out of my way to hug everyone that day.
