I only live about 2 miles from the store, but for some reason the trip felt longer this week. Later on, my family and I tried to go for a walk in the park, but there were no parking spots open. The season is changing, the grass is looking greener, and this sentence was written both figuratively and literally.
By now several states have begun reopening store fronts, essential businesses have allowed customers to walk unrestricted through its aisles, and the equity markets had the best monthly performance in over 30 years. While there have been many unprecedented, events in the past 6 weeks a certain rhyme draws my ear toward history.
In the early 20th century the world was afflicted by the fears of catching polio. At this time medicine was far less advanced, case counts were far less known, and precautionary measures were far less taken. Like today, schools, churches and movie theaters advised a form of "social distancing," but never the less stayed open. The virus was particularly dangerous to children, but even President FDR fell critically ill to many of the symptoms of polio. To be diagnosed brought up fears of life sustained by the iron lung, or even permanent paralysis. Cures for the disease were readily tested but ineffective. It was not until nearly half a century and two world wars later that a vaccine had been discovered and put to use.
It is likely if you know someone close to 80 years old they either had polio or know someone who had it. They would have lived through times with far more uncertainty than ours and experienced a world climate unparalleled to anything we've seen in the 21st century. They would remember polio, World War 2, the cold war, Black Monday and the eventual eradication of polio in the U.S. Yet even as I list these events its hard not to contextualize them to my own experience of the 21st century.
I'm 27 years old and remember watching the twin towers fall. I remember the "War on Terrorism," the 2008 recession and now the great quarantine of 2020. In light of all of these world changing events it can be easy to forget the trials of previous generations. During this season every news station, social media site, and news paper I've seen describes our time as unprecedented. It is a scary thought that we may be losing the history of the 20th century. I am not a fatalist, but if we forget the paths of history, we are certainly more prone to follow familiar ones.
As our octogenarians and older generations wrap up another decade, they have experienced an unprecedented period of economic growth. They have seen unprecedented speed in the development of viral treatments and are waiting with unprecedented eagerness to hear from their children and grandchildren.
This Mothers day remember your elders, remember and empathize with the times they had raising you. Give them a call, ask about their story and share the wisdom they gained as parents through hardship. Maybe then, just maybe our generation can do something truly unprecedented.