So. The ending is (to)nigh(t). The ending of the strangest year of our lifes, at least for many of us.
Who could have guessed? Even back in March when it was clear that the virus was getting out of control, not contained in China as we first thought. On the other hand, society was not destroyed by it. There were not shortages of food, although deliveries were delayed and it was very hard to buy on online supermarkets for a while. But those were minor inconveniences compared with the things others had to deal with.
Anyway, society survived and our low-key Apocalypse seems to be more or less under control. However, it is far from over. And two main questions remain. When this will be really over? and, more importantly, how much it will change the world?
No one has the answers, but it is fun to imagine. I guess life will start getting back to 'normal' in 6 to 9 months, maybe more. Social live will resume (for those who have stopped it, which are hardly the majority).
And how much will the world change?
It is difficult to say. In a day to day level, probably face masks will disappear almost completely, except for some reluctant hypochondriacs (I will be one of them). Maybe we will still wash our hands a lot. Or maybe not. Probably just the ones wearing masks from time to time.
I think most people will be back to the "old normal". I think most of the people are doing now many "old normal" things, just wearing a mask in order to avoid fines and that's it. Others will retain some new habits, crazy stuff for the rest, like wearing face masks in crowded closed spaces, washing their hands constantly and maybe avoiding physical interactions. I will probably be on that side. I will probably never shake hands with an stranger again. Also, many pantries will be full most of the time.
What more will change, aside for the little perks some of us have developed? Time for more wild guesses. At the next level some business will die and others will flourish. E-commerce will probably be stronger than ever, with many companies accelerating their digital transformations, progressing years of planning in mere months. Remote working will be more common, but not as ubiquitous as it should.
Before the pandemic companies that rented vehicles on the fly (Wible, Zity, Car2Go, etc,) where thriving and made much easier to live without a car in a city. Then the pandemic hit out of nowhere and I thought they would go out of business, but it seems they are managing to survive, so maybe we will see more of them. Specially if remote working spreads. I do not know if we will see more changes in transportation, besides a little less commuting.
What about politics? It is very hard to say. It does not seem that we will see much change. Populism seems to only getting worse, creating a bigger and bigger divide between confronting sides with no chance of agreement. We had experienced that around 80 years ago and that ended... poorly. At a worldwide level, populism seems on the rise too. What I am more curious about is what will happen to the "World Order". The EU has started to pursue something called "strategic independence", seing that the USA is a less reliable ally, specially now that the UK has parted ways with it. Also it will probably try to lessen our dependency of China exports for some critical material and other dependencies. It also was encouraging that the relief funds for the pandemic were somehow tied to the "democraticness" of the receiving countries. At the moment it might not seem like much, but it will hopefully mean change for some countries and less feeling of being cheated for the rest. It seems like a step in the good direction and a little spark of hope. Hope countered by the avalanche of nationalism that seems will tear the EU apart. But we can only hope.
Well, that was a lot. And also very little. I cannot wait for 5 or 10 years to pass and find how cringeworthy this post is. Also, why did I write it in English? There are so many sentences I think are poorly written.
Anyway, goodbye, strange, strange year.
