Something in the Air

“There’s something in the air.”

That line from the song of the same name by Thunderclap Newman in the ‘60s has been going through my mind as this coronavirus unfolds. As I recall from my readings awhile back, during the time of cholera epidemics the leading idea was that of a malignant miasma, some ghostly agent that drifted in the air and brought the sickness. Only much later did it become clear that the source was contaminated water, not foul air.

But until that was figured out and the cholera brought under control, the idea of something invisible and evil approaching without notice must have been terrifying. No way to keep out something one cannot detect. Only prayer and watching oneself and each other for signs of the disease. Every cough, every upset, anything might be a sign that the miasma had made it through locked doors and closed windows and beyond precautions.

Those in power could offer only vague promises and suggestions as rumors and reports of disease and death grew ever closer to home. The king couldn’t even admit that he didn’t know, but rather dreamt up, then drummed up, phantasmagorical demons, evildoers from foreign shores, as the source of all problems.

We’re like that now, except our “miasma” is a scientifically-established virus. But it’s still invisible and there’s not yet a cure; all we can do is try to stay in a 3-foot cone of solitude, wait and watch and wash our hands. There’s no firm pattern to who is getting sick, and no visible sign it’s approaching. It’s not like a natural disaster, flood or hurricane or blizzard with tangible signs of being. Our leaders have only the vaguest understanding of what’s going on, and even less ability to instill confidence that they will get a handle on things.

It’s like ghosts crawling into the machine.

An unreal feeling, except it’s real. And beyond the paradigm of our lives thus far.

It's something in the air.