The New Normalcy

     Looking back over the last year, our country has had a rollercoaster of events. There has been so many unimaginable things to happen in our country like riots, deaths of celebrities that rocked peoples worlds,  the election of the decade, and of course the coronavirus. 2020 has been packed with so much drama that not even Steven Spielberg could direct a film about it. But, the most amazing part of it all is hoe resilient people have become. If someone would have told us what would be in store for this year, many people would have laughed in their faces. Now, people have gotten used to some of the issues and have found a new normalcy in their lives. 

    For the most part, people do not even think about wearing masks or social distancing. It has simply become second nature. People keep extra masks in their cars, purses, or on their keychain like me. Although most restaurants now have a lower capacity, people are still able to go out and do things that they are used to doing. Students have f finally adjusted to online classes and learning in new ways. Employees have returned to work for the most part. Businesses have reopened and it seems like life is going back to what it used to be. However, the number of Coronavirus cases have started climbing up the ladder again and not much can be done about it unless there is a vaccine or our country has to shut down again. The point is that the new normalcy is that there is no normalcy. Without a vaccine, our world is subject to change constantly and people have to be willing to change with the times until treatment is found for the virus. Gatherings of people must stay reduced, masks have to be continued to be worn, and people have to do their part in keeping others healthy as well as themselves. Although this year has been a complete whirlwind, the worse part is trying to picture what next year will be like; or even several years after. As a student, I have no idea how my classes will be administrated next semester. I do not know when the next time I will be able to safely travel away from Kentucky. There are too many variables that could change drastically and there is no way of knowing how it will next year will be. The only thing we do know is that we will have to be flexible, not dwell on the past, and embrace the good that has come of the unfortunate circumstances of this year. 

The Vaccine Race

     

    As it has always been very evident, many people do not agree on numerous political issues. This divide creates several problems between two or more countries, or even within a single country. Political issues have been the cause of several world and civil wars. There always have been these issues and there always will be because it is nearly impossible for every single person to agree upon every worldly issue. Normally, these issues do not affect civilians everyday, however, with a global pandemic, that is not the case. This pandemic has driven its way into every person's life, in every country in the world. Because this virus easily spreads like wildfire, the need for a vaccine is the highest it has ever been; and the race to find on is on.

    Powerful countries like Russia, China, and the United States have been making headway with creating a vaccine. The problem is that, due to past conflicts, these countries are likely to keep the vaccine to themselves if it finds to be promising. In the past and present the U.S. has had its fair share of conflicts with both of these countries. Currently, the U.S. is in a trade war with China and this has caused great tension between the two countries. Many people believe that whoever wins the "vaccine race" will keep the vaccine for themselves as a pride issue.  This country would have ultimate power and would basically be able to manipulate the other countries into doing whatever they pleased to receive the vaccine. I believe that the country who has the winning vaccine will hoard it for themselves and only distribute the vaccine to those who are able to pay for it. I do not think that the vaccine will be spread globally because, in reality, the country with the vaccine would not benefit from sharing the vaccine with the rest of the world. There has even been rumors of hackers trying to steal vaccine data for China. These excessive measures are just another way that countries are becoming  and are making this more of a political issue instead of a human issue. This race is undermining the thousands of lives that were lost by the virus. This is completely against moral codes and completely endangers the lives of so many more people. Without a global vaccine, thousands of people will continue to die and that is simply not okay. Although, morally, global distribution is the right thing to do, it will not happen with the current state of our world.