The Atlantic Warns About First Post-pandemic Winter

The Atlantic is pointing out how there's room for improvement in how America deals with this pandemic: Warning Signs About the First Post-pandemic Winter The Atlantic

This is my favorite part: "What we can count on is the malleability of human behavior—what will help set the trajectory of this winter, and others to come."

My Commentary

If you're counting on being able to control people more than what happened until now, think again. Because the human ego is growing. We all got a huge boost of EQ when the outbreak began. We got super-smart very fast. Our values changed and our whole perspective of life shifted - for all humans on the planet. But as things progressed with fighting the virus, we thought we had it licked. So we went back to our old ways. And for Americans that's expressed by going into BUY, BUY, BUY mode. No matter what is going on in the world - just keep consuming and everything will be fine. But it's not. The division and violence throughout American society keeps getting worse. Mental health is a huge problem in the workforce and for the next generation that refuse to buy into a failing lifestyle. Our only real "sickness" is that we let the human ego run wild, and refuse to be aware that it's behind all these escalating problems. Better yet, we each have our own idea of how to solve these issues. So even though you may have the exact same background as your co-worker or boss, nowadays as American citizens, you can disagree on a whole range issues. And all those bad vibes are festering beneath the surface everywhere.

What do we need to fix in our world so that we'll be more in balance with the system we exist in instead of getting this negative reaction?

I would be far more impressed with The Atlantic if they didn't simply focus on the virus and everything related to it - but also looked at the bigger picture. I wish they'd ask the most important question - why did this happen? And what do we need to fix in our world so that we'll be more in balance with the system we exist in instead of getting this negative reaction? When nature speaks, we should listen. Hurricane Ian left a trail of devastation that will take weeks to assess, years to repair, and who knows what new adversities will happen in the meantime. The ferocity of storms is growing, wildfires are becoming more frequent and intense, and droughts are vanquishing rivers and lakes. The more we interfere with nature, disrupt it and exploit it, the more we trigger aggressive and extreme reactions like the pandemic. And the hurricanes. It's time we got past our ego long enough to see that we're dealing with forces that are far stronger than we'll ever be. We should follow their directives instead of trying to dominate them as if we're superior or something.

What their directive? Very simple - stay balanced. We need to live a balanced lifestyle. For ourselves, and all of society. We can't have a handful of billionaires sailing around on their fancy yachts, when others don't have basic things like safety or food. As long this social gap continues to grow, the more intense nature’s revenge will be. This is why Covid isn't leaving us as fast as we hoped.

Our material needs have been met; now is the time to meet our emotional needs, and these will be met when we create a society where people enjoy life.

I believe that Americans are resilient enough to come through the adversity and make the necessary changes. It's only a question of what it will take to get the ball rolling.

It's time for the world leader in consumerism to take on a more responsible role in the world, and be a model for a more balanced and sustainable lifestyle. The focus in the 21st century needs to shift from improving our material life to improving our social life. Our material needs have been met; now is the time to meet our emotional needs, and these will be met when we create a society where people enjoy life.

The only way to create a company or society made up of happy people is to invest in maintaining good connections between people. If America can make mending the growing alienation among people a priority, it will give people a sense of contentment. People will begin to get their fulfillment from social connections instead of material possessions. The world has been heading in this direction for a long time, but we refuse to face the fact that we've come to the end of this unsustainable lifestyle, which doesn't make us happy.

Once we figure all this out, there's no limit to the amount of social bonding that can be generated in the workplace; it is the ultimate sustainable resource. If we tap into it, we'll discover an abundance of power and joy in social connections. Then instead of exploiting nature to try to satisfy our insatiable desires, we'll direct our positive human energy toward each other.