Disenfranchised Grief and Divisiveness in the Aftermath of Pandemic

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The COVID-19 pandemic has left a deep impact, with the wearing of masks affecting people's self-esteem. Despite the prophesied nature of the pandemic in the Bible, creating a coherent civilizational memory seems challenging. The divisiveness and vitriol surrounding COVID not only hinder conversations about a memorial but also lead to disenfranchised grief, where people mourn something others claim is not real. This disenfranchisement presents challenges for organizing and moving forward in the aftermath of the pandemic.

When a highway gets made, there’s a clear and consistent process for doing so. Not so, public memorials. From the Vietnam Wall to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, it’s always different. Sometimes a handful of concerned citizens get together and make it happen. Sometimes a nonprofit pushes for it, or a foundation. There’s usually a lot of activism, and a lot of fraught conversations – about design, location, the story it should tell about what happened, and who it affected.

And how does one memorialize such a vast and distributed tragedy like COVID-19, which was devastating physically but also divisive politically?

Don't Forget to Remember