We all know Karl Marx’ words: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.” He (who, in the 19th century, only considered he/him folk worthy of discussion) was talking about the division of a particular society’s assets. I (who, in the 21st century, only very recently figured this out) have discovered a whole nother meaning…
My first seven decades were squandered trying to cram the square pegs of what I thought should be normal into the round holes of what I actually came across in life. When I couldn’t do this, I dropped it. If a friend crossed the line into what I considered OCD granularity, I tuned it out. If another friend suffered from an anxiety disorder she herself admitted to, I discounted her fears. While I might well be polite and emotionally respectful/accommodating in both instances, because I sincerely care about my friends, I didn’t take what was being said all that seriously.
I did find that my “normal” yardstick didn’t, at times, leave me with a whole hell of a lot to work with…
Then the pandemic hit. We all experienced a dizzying explosion of information, misinformation, contradictory information, and ever-changing information. Respected sources firmly informed us that masks weren’t necessary or even advisable one minute, then that masks were essential the next.
Those of us at the highest risk…old, perhaps immunocompromised, with heart conditions, asthma, diabetes, et alia…were more than just scratching our heads. For us whether or not COVID-19 could be caught from environmental surfaces, or if it was safe to eat inside a restaurant, was truly a matter of life and death.
You may be able to see what’s coming.
Remember my OCD friend? Guess who pored over every shred of information available from any reasonably respectable source and stayed up all night laboriously connecting dots no one in their “right” mind could possibly have kept track of?
And my other friend suffering from anxiety attacks? I perhaps don’t have to tell you who figured out the best ambulance service to call on or local hospital to request they take you to.
At long last I might have figured it out: Fuck both the concept of “right” and “normal.” “From each according to their ability…”
