They are fully cowed now, the people, driving around in their cars with windows rolled up, fully masked even though they're alone.
When you pass them on a sidewalk, they cut a wide swath around you as if to avoid possible contamination, as if you were a pathogen instead of a human. Their eyes are almost always cast down or away, often sheepishly, as if looking at you might make them susceptible to something, anything, they don't want.
They feel entitled, as one young man you encounter outside the farmer's market, to attack you for not following covid policy the way they construe it, even though you're standing alone outside talking to your friend and breaking no law. Sticking his face into your conversation--as far as he deems safe given you are bare-faced--he barks angrily, "Don't you know there's a pandemic going on?" "That's questionable," you reply calmly. This makes him angrier. "You're an asshole!" he says, and storms off. To your credit, you refrain from the string of unprintable invectives you might have issued on another occasion. "Happy Mother's Day," you say to the man no longer there.
Fortunately, there are others like you, who walk dogs in leafy neighbourhoods and say a warm hello when passing you on the sidewalk. Neither of you skirts the other. It's as if they are relieved to experience closeness to another human being, even a stranger, after the harsh restrictions of early lockdowns, some semblance of the way it used to be before the virus. They look you in the eyes and you both acknowledge the spark of humanity. Your blood quickens. Sadly, this is the exception rather than the rule.
Of course, the problem is that most Americans constantly watch TV, their mindless entertainer, their personal assistant who keeps them apprised of the latest breaking news. They would never call it what it is--government propaganda--and they watch all day, every day, and believe the blatant lies fed to them by a media militantly committed to pushing mass vaccinations, a cashless, vaccine passport-social credit scoring-one world government that slowly moulds the masses into its ideal: affectless, zombified drone workers who have no opinions, feelings, or thoughts. Just obedience. You live in a smart box with only what you need--a sleeping pod, a table, a chair--your vitals monitored 24/7 by the subdermal chip that records your behaviour and thoughts and also contains your credits that continue to be deposited as long as you do your assigned work and keep your nose clean. You trust no one. Knowing you cannot procreate the normal way, sex becomes a desultory affair you feel obligated to perform just to offload uncomfortable, pent-up urges. (This is permitted by the overlords as long as it doesn't lead to attachment and feelings.) Creativity is a punishable thought crime, and whatever children are permitted to enter this sterile world come from a test tube. Mad Max looks like a fairy-tale compared to this.
You believe in goodness despite the current circumstances. Just look at the blooming flowers on your patio, listen to the birds happily chittering in the trees nearby. The sky is blue and there's a refreshing breeze. You have a roof over your head, and your car has a full tank of gas. You have people who love you and adoring pets. There's food in your fridge for at least several weeks. No bombs are dropping on your city; wildfires do not threaten your neighbourhood. No one is breaking down your door to force you to take an experimental gene therapy you have declined.