Witnessing the history of humanity
The world is a confusing place right now. We are in unprecedented times and navigating through uncharted waters each day battling the coronavirus.
I have hope that we will be able to congregate again and see each other interact without being 6-feet apart. History has shown that it is possible to overcome pandemics before, and for whatever it is worth, I am confident we can get through this one.
One night during the extended spring break period, I was watching the 11 p.m. news with my dad which showed segments of people cheering around the world. People in Italy were singing songs from their balconies, dancing in the streets and cheering on children returning from hospitals around the country.
My mind began to wander and I thought about how generations after us will learn about this period of history. I wrote how I felt in my journal because I thought that it was important to highlight some of the aforementioned good deeds people did. Decades later if someone is to ever find my old journal they will see entries about the good of humanity during a dark time.
“We’re on social media, especially since we’re not occupied at school … so going on your phone is something normal to do. We have the power to post anything we want at any time,” sophomore graphic design major Jordan Griffin said via FaceTime. “The more positivity we post, the more it will impact people as a whole.”
Griffin added that if people continue to highlight the positivity in the world, that the future authors of history books will hopefully record it.
In the coming years, children will learn definitions of “Social Distancing” and it will probably be some question on a quiz in history class, but that is not what I want to see. I want to see questions such as “What common office device did individuals use to make face shields for hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic?” And the answer would be a 3D printer.
These are stories that need to see the light of day so that generations down the line will never lose faith in humanity.
Freshman health care policy major Katy Timari, who is in the process of her EMT training, said many people around her town have made donations.
“The EMT center has been getting a lot of donations from local restaurants,” Timari said. “It’s really important to look back and see the positives even when things are dark, but it’s also important to learn from the mistakes made at this time.”
She also wants news outlets to report on how many people have recovered or have been discharged from the hospitals, rather than just the deaths and increases of cases.
“There are also facts that people are getting better and people who are doing amazing stuff and that’s just not being looked at,” Timari said. “It’s heartbreaking to me because you want to highlight the good in humanity as well as all the [expletive] stuff going on. The two things are going on at once but you need to look at both sides of the coin.”
What I hope people take into account is how desperately important it is to help showcase the good things people all around the world are doing in this horrific time. Hopefully, it will brighten someone’s day and restore their faith in humanity.
By Dylan Manfre
sophomore journalism major
