Notes of My Plague Year

Years ago I began seeing news reports on the rise of Ebola, a previously uncommon disease. Similarly, I started taking note of the rise of other serious diseases, such as Hantavirus, hemorrhagic fever and other odd pestilences. I began studying the course of plagues in human history. We’ve had many plagues in our history going back, from ancient classical times up to the Flu Pandemic of 1919. These are some thoughts and commonalities I have found that seem to occur in all plagues.

Be lonely. If you want to survive, stay away from people. Disease travels by contact; no contact, no disease. This was known in ancient times and still works today. As early as the Plague of Athens in 430 BC commentators noted that overcrowding due to war refugees exacerbated the plague. Very simple. Or so you would think.

Every plague brings out the fools. There are always people who refuse to take precautions or think it does not to them. Just as today some people refuse to believe the threat is real, or it’s a conspiracy or a plot, people in the past acted the same. During the Black Death in the 1340s people would gather for the Dance Macabre followed by riotous parties and debauchery. Today they go to beaches and have mass demonstrations.

It's always somebody else's fault. During the Plague of Justinian in 541 AD the commentator Procopius blamed the emperor for the plague. Depending on which plague, it's been the gods, the enemy, that nation or just plain them. It's never our fault.

Don’t be poor. In every case I studied poor people were hit harder than others. The main reason for this is poor people live in closer contact than others. Space costs money, but it brings more security.

Plagues are good for the economy. After each plague there is a rebound of the economy. I think after going through such a terrible event the survivors just want to put it behind them and get back to normalcy and enjoy what’s left. There is a lot of pent up demand. Myself, I’m going to spend on new clothes and other things I’ve put off. Others will do the same. People want to feel good so they spend money. Also the labor pool has shrunk so the value of labor increases. If a worker survives their value increases. An excellent example of this recovery are the combined crises' of World War I and the Flu pandemic of 1919. After those two in a row disasters we had the Roaring Twenties. The money flowed, the booze flowed and it was party time. People are desperate to put the bad stuff behind.

This magic elixir will cure you. No it won’t. Plagues come complete with half baked, totally useless cures that some people think will protect them. We’ve had many people now days touting odd remedies that they are sure will work; fast for a day and eat ginger, eat bananas, drink camel urine are floating around now days. Me, I’ll stick with the time tested, ever proven, three cloves of garlic on a red wine soaked cloth worn around my neck.

Something about things change but remain the same? I thought it was interesting how these behaviors reoccur.