On March 13, 2020, I made the decision to turn the Independent’s simple weekly newsletter into a daily missive with links to reliable news and information, both local and national, as well as commentary from yours truly. The first version of our Indy Digest newsletter was born.
That was the same day a national emergency was declared due to COVID-19. I was freaked out as the world was shutting down—chances are you were, too—and misinformation was running rampant.
The headline of that first Digest? “No More Visitors at EMC; (Palm Springs Unified School District) Closing for Two Weeks; and More!”
PSUSD Closing for Two Weeks. How little we knew.
On that same day, I was wondering about the Independent’s future, as 80 percent of our advertising went away in a flash. What was slated to be our 40-page April Music Issue, with a 16,000 copy print run, became a 24-page paper, with a 10,000-copy print run … with an empty roll of toilet paper on the cover.
In 2024, on March 13, I went to a sold-out Madonna concert at Acrisure Arena. It was a packed house of screaming, excited locals, celebrating a pop and culture icon’s career, in our community’s brand-new arena.
So, yeah. Things are a lot better overall now than they were four years ago; there’s no question about that. But when you start to dig a little deeper, it becomes clear that some things are much worse.
The New York Times marked the four-year anniversary of the national-emergency declaration with a piece headlined “Four Years On, COVID Has Reshaped Life for Many Americans.” This passage was particularly striking:
One common sentiment has emerged. The changes brought on by the pandemic now feel lasting, a shift that may have permanently reshaped American life.
Before the pandemic, Melody Condon, a marketing specialist in Vancouver, Wash., who is immunocompromised, said she had a stronger sense of confidence in other people.
“Unfounded or not, I believed that for the most part, others would take small actions to keep me and people like me safe,” Ms. Condon, 32, said.
But now she has encountered people who resist taking a Covid test or wearing a mask in some situations.
“What they’re communicating is that they don’t care about my health and my life,” Ms. Condon said. “I have lost so much trust in others.”
Frankly, I feel similarly. I sometimes ponder how much worse things would be if another pandemic arrived now. The growing number of anti-science and uber-privileged “personal rights” folks—riled up by powerful politicians on the right—would simply not take the precautions needed to protect themselves and, more importantly, those around them.
The lockdowns brought out some good in people, yes. But they also shined a light on some of the darkest traits in some people—like selfishness, a sense of privilege, anger and a disregard for the plight of others.
I am very, very happy we’re now in a time of Madonna concerts and being around one another, and that the Independent is back to a 40-page April Music Issue with a 16,000-copy press run. But I am sad that my opinion of humanity today is much lower than it was on March 13, 2020.
Note: This is a slightly edited version of the editor’s note that appeared in the April 2024 print edition. Much of this column was originally published online in the March 14 Indy Digest.
