In this 2020 year of the novel coronavirus Covid-19, what is it that we Americans consider to be our greatest bete noir, that is, the nineteenth century metaphor from the French meaning "black beast." What is the dreaded anathema that sometimes looks like a pet peeve but often feels like a paralyzing fear? Ah, that is the question, isn't it.
Various media sources constantly remind us of the real fears that exist out there and especially at home--Depression-era loss of jobs, income, and basic essentials, a quarantined society that deems itself highly gregarious and cannot abide cabin fever, the rising numbers of illness and death, and the concomitant emotional strains of each outcome. After the shock of living a new normal, shame, depression, anger, and rage have set in.
But what is it that we hate most about our current situation? What is our universal bete noir?
If years of experience in the world of education, in family life, in friendships, and a keen interest in national and global affairs can give me a slight edge, I'll go out on a limb and offer an educated guess.
Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, partners for a brief time in the early development of psychology, both agreed that the human psyche consists of three phases operating almost simultaneously in each of us: the Id, the Ego, and the Super-Ego. The Id functions to gratify instincts for pleasure without regard to right and wrong. The Ego is a regulating agent that protects an individual by attempting to maintain a balance between Id and Super-Ego. The Super-Ego is a moral censoring agent that protects society and tries to repress the behavior of the Id. In a word or two, the Id is the child in us, the Super-Ego wants us to be angels, and the Ego is struggling for balance. So in which phase do we seem to be functioning in this pandemic?
If you've ever been around three-year-olds, bless them, you understand the frustration of "I want what I want and I want it now." We not only accept this in young children, we expect it, but unfortunately that also defines adult Id behavior. Most of the time we can tolerate what is necessary to live in an adult world, at least until our Ego is overstimulated and challenged, but when we've had enough and we can't get our wants and needs met urgently enough, Katie bar the door and hello Id! We often act like little children.
And sometimes this Id behavior of ours gets us into trouble, like potentially right now. According to the latest figures for Covid-19, the numbers for infection and death have plateaued but in a number of states aren't coming down as expected. Why? Because we're leaving our houses and we aren't social- distancing and wearing masks to prevent further spread of the virus. Our serious desire for instant gratification has kicked in, and we are fooling ourselves about the consequences.
So, is it really that simple? Well, ….
Americans, without a doubt, are wired to be in connection with other people, as Chris Hogan with the Dave Ramsey organization has pointed out. Although decades of research shows that loneliness is a killer, we don't need research to prove it. And all the social media and video chats in the world will not take the place of human touch. Yet we're dealing with life and death, folks, until enough testing and a vaccine can be available to all people. Are we talking about years? Maybe, according to some scientists, but not necessarily if we can alter our behavior enough to protect ourselves and others from this dreaded virus. The truth is, Covid-19 is not going away any time soon, maybe for several years.
Do you remember when you couldn't wait to grow up and experience all the privileges of being "old enough"? Now that we're all grown up, we also have responsibilities that come with the privileges, that is, unless you plan to spend your adult life living out of your Id.
Notice that the word life comes first in the phrase "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
The world, not just Americans, is living through an historic pandemic, and if we do not adhere to the rules for staying alive and well and take the opportunity to learn something from this novel virus and its necessary quarantine--bete noir that it might be, we will be destined to repeat our mistakes and once again suffer even greater losses in terms of both human life and the economy.
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