COVID-19 has affected our reality in different ways across the globe, disrupting social, cultural, religious, and personal connections throughout the year. As social creatures, humans are accustomed to a certain level of contact with other humans, and many have gone several months without regular contact with others. We have been emotionally and mentally tested throughout quarantine, not only through isolation and lack of connection with others, but also a lot of time via media overload.
The experiences that we are having right now are going to affect our self-concepts for the rest of our lives as well as the concepts we have of members of our communities. We bind our self-concepts to outward expressions of beliefs, and many of those identities are tied to politics. For example, right now many people might be able to make a somewhat accurate assumption on another person’s political stance if they are 1) not wearing a mask or social distancing or 2) wearing a mask incorrectly. The proven dangers of COVID-19 and preventative methods to take against contracting it or passing it on to others is in direct conflict with the outward expression of the sociopolitical standing of many conservatives. This dissonance creates divides between other members of communities and binds the opposing groups tighter to their own groups.
Through isolation, we have been allowed to align ourselves more concretely with different groups with only social media, news media, and what small windows we have into our communities to affirm or contest our views of who we would consider to be the “other.”
The lack of personal connections furthers this divide between groups because no media or politician is more likely to bridge a divide than interpersonal communication. We have been isolated from our churches, mosques, and temples. We have been separated from the communities, jobs, and clubs with which we identify, and though safe communication is possible, screens feel less personal than what we would consider our “normal” modes of communication. The only other mode of safe communication is socially distanced and with masks, which might be the most essential part of progressing out of this pandemic.
Whether we are getting a vaccine in the summer, or sooner, or later, we are in this together. We are in this as human beings. The divides that have been cleaved through our communities through lack of interpersonal connections must be patched. When it is safe to see people, or through socially distanced and masked modes of communication, we as people have a responsibility to align our identities with one another rather than our political parties. We are individuals with complicated thoughts and feelings, and the support we have for different politicians should not dictate every action we take in our social interactions.
Coming out of this pandemic, we all must work to rebuild our own concepts of ourselves outside of politics because while the two remain intertwined, we will continue to be divided.