Recovery from what? And to what are we returning? Definition, please! While we’re at it, let’s define economy, morals and purpose in relation to this title.
Hmmm. Well, starting with recovery, I’d define that as coming out of our stay-at-home status to a broader social gathering behavior. How broad is another matter to define but I’ll include commuting to job sites or meetings with limited contact with the public. That means no mass transit; will settle with car, bike or walking. Job sites include office spaces or activity site such as a manufacturing machine position, or a construction site where contact with others is limited to small numbers.
Protective devices would include face masks, hand sanitizers and gloves where necessary.
Meal breaks would be a bag lunch from home. Possibly a dining room facility where wrapped/covered menu items are handed to you on a tray or plate with social distancing maintained by others in the same space.
Meeting spaces would include conference rooms or customer work sites. Again social distancing and personal protective items would be employed.
As medical testing expands exponentially, full social interaction can be broadened, but only then or after. With more research findings, perhaps total social interaction will be accepted once a vaccine is available and administered. Only the vaccinated will be allowed freedom to fully interact.
Products and services that require close personal contact will recover when the medical treatments and testing protocols are well worked out. Until then affected products and services will require replacement or re-invention. The old normal will be unacceptable. It will be in our past and remain there.
All of these taken together will define recovery of the economy. Technology will provide the means to rapidly replace many processes to maintain health and safety. As the pace of re-invention speeds up, the economy will speed up as well.
As to recovering morals, that’s more difficult. Defining morals has always been difficult once we try to move past ‘doing the right thing.’ Once the exceptions begin, complexity swallows morality. We humans will wiggle our way into rarified spaces to allow freedom of thought and action.
Morality in 2020 requires a strict return to not only doing the right thing but stating factual realities and provable truths in our conversations. Being accountable is another way of saying this. Lesser is not acceptable. Innuendo is blocked. Repercussions for dealing in unproven gossip and reporting of non-fact will be fast and effective.
Does morality end here? I don’t think so. Being moral is one thing, but then how we live must change as a result. Processes, governance, policy setting, elections, contracts and so much more need to change to meet the moral standard. Yes, much more needs discussion here. Not ready to do that now. Later?
Recovery of purpose is another matter, but related to the first two elements – economy and morals.
Purpose is subjective. What I/you like, is interested in, has the talent for, and can provide fresh new insight on, are all involved in understanding purpose. Who am I? What do I want to become? What activities will I perform and be accomplished at? What outcomes from such efforts can be expected, and are they of value to others? Is the outcome moral? Are the means of achieving the outcomes moral? Of what economic value are all of these things?
From an acorn grows an oak tree. The oak tree provides shade, beauty and strong lumber. The lumber is turned into products, some of immediate end use, others as tools to make yet other products. Services are created to bring the oak lumber from the felling site to the sawmill. Distribution services move the lumber to other manufacturing sites. Design, engineering and further processing services are added to the lumber to create more value. Selling and distributing the products to society is yet another service. Brokering products to end users adds to the service array.
Purpose abounds at every turn in what the acorn creates. And like the acorn we humans live through complex steps to be whole. The acorn and its progeny are not moral. They are what they are. It is we who add the moral component.
Will we do it right?
May 20, 2020
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