My life doesn't resemble what it did one week ago. Since I had been following the COVID-19 story closely since mid-January, I was not surprised by all our institutions suddenly stopping like workers at the closing whistle. But we feel like we lost our bearings. To add to it, after being away from the internet and Steem for a beautiful six months of solitude, I returned to a community in turmoil, and I made the switch to Hive today.
But change has upside. Maintaining the status quo most benefits those with wealth and power, a class that certainly doesn't include my family. I am now optimistic that this current global upheaval has enormous opportunity if we are brave enough to rise to these days.
Unmet demand and innovation
I own a small business, and our national situation has caused the large competitors to shut down and stop providing services though technically no face-to-face interaction is needed for our services. If I can be nimble, be brave enough to try new strategies, and get out ahead there is enormous potential to help clients who are in urgent need of support and grow my business. Likewise, I hope my participate in Hive from Day 1 will allow me to thrive on this blockchain.
Living in community and subsidiarity
In the United States, many are essentially just waiting for the state and federal government to tell them what to do. To mitigate the effects of COVID-19, it will be vital to have grassroots networks of neighbors supporting neighbors. Local organizations will have to ensure the safety of vulnerable members. Private individuals and businesses will have to make their own decisions about sharing and allocating resources. I hope that this crisis causes a retreat from top-down, centralized governing and a return to subsidiarity: where decisions are made on the most local of levels.
Awakening from the nightmare of self-obsession
I saw some concern on Steem for the choice of Hive because of the connotation of some centralized system. I am fascinated by animal behavior, and a Hive is an inspiring metaphor for this community and larger culture. Like bees, we are all born with different talents and make different choices. But we can make those choices embedded within a community. The benefit is a self-supporting community which improves the welfare of each member. With bees, every bee could leave the Hive. But the benefits for staying from mutual defense to reproductive fitness are immense. Free individuals thrive in community. With COVID-19, I hope many of the everyday people can wake up from a society to wants to destroy self-association and promote alienation.
Tomorrow, I will be going around to each of my neighbors to check on them and see if they any supplies. Let's get to work.
