Circus , society and the corona virus .

The pandemic that is the Corona virus COVID-19 is having an affect on society and the world as we know it and however long it lasts we will never go back to pre March 2020 habits and attitudes . I am a circus artist and we look at life through a different lens,  For many centuries we were insular and separate from mainstream life , Nomads travelling from one town/region/country to another entertaining whoever sat in front of us , This gave us a unique insight into the world and it's inhabitants , it was a case of 'us and them'.  Over recent decades we have integrated and become more  accepted into society but we have kept many of our traditions , habits, foibles and superstitions , the strongest of these is a sense of fellowship , In times of trouble we unite to help and aid any of our community in trouble  regardless of the circumstances, It's happening during this present crisis , many circuses throughout Europe just as the season was starting were locked down in the town in which they were performing , some got help from the local authority but many others were shunned by theirs. Artists from all over the world suddenly trapped  in a strange land with no recourse to financial aid and being left to their own devices,  Circuses and Artists using social media came to the rescue offering places to park caravans with electric and water , animals getting food from local farmers  ( who are turning out to be heroes throughout Europe ) and giving advice to many  on how to get home, many shows stayed together with the Big Top still up as a place to practice and 'self isolate'  as a group  , sounds strange but it works .
 I read of many local communities where this type of co-operation has  happened but these are people who live close to each other in a small neighbourhood , it's different when the community is spread from Norway to Greece and UK to Ukraine. The other side of the story is many circuses throughout the EU have offered their Tents, Generators and other assets to Governments and local authorities to use as emergency hospices, testing sites or A&E facilities .
Over the next weeks and months much more of this behaviour will happen as the situation worsens and people realise that their dependence on the 'kindness of strangers ' is the norm .

At the end of the crisis and because of it I believe that society will change considerably , people will look at their leaders, both local and national, with different priorities , How they behaved during the time of trouble , did they lead or were they led , were they decisive and honest , did they tackle the situation in front of them to the best of their ability or did they see it as an opportunity to further their own ambition and try to bluff over the ' bad bits', I have to admit I wrote the last paragraph with Trump and Johnson forefront in my thoughts as they both seem to be still campaigning and putting politics (with a big and small P ) the before national interest .

It has usually been the case that 'cometh the hour , cometh the man - or woman'
but it seems that is no longer true, Governments throughout the world affected by the virus had very different and varied solutions to the same problem from immediate lockdown and quarantine to social distancing and self isolation , the speed and spread of the virus demanded a more instant  response from all sides led by the major administrations in unison but in an age of Skype , conference calling and many other technological advances in communication this did not happen , the U.S. and Trump were on a program  of denial , " Everyone's doing well, they're all getting better " these comments came from Donald  Trump while deaths were being reported on other networks that he describes as 'Fake News' . In the UK Boris Johnson resorted to his Dominic Cummings inspired soundbites which got him elected ,  meaningless platitudes in place of facts . it seems that both are re-acting to events instead of being proactive and decisive.
The UK government has been noticeable by it's absence , Only the PM, the Home Secretary ( mired in a bullying scandal and unable to command her position with any authority ) The Health Minister , a Johnson acolyte who is incompetent in the job and the Chancellor are visible,  out of these the Chancellor is the only one to have any credibility, behaving with dignity that belies one so young in such a position  and  at all times talking to the people and not at them .

It has been many decades since the world has gone through such a grave situation , one thinks of WW11 and the havoc that caused  but that was over more than 70 years ago, since then there have been other  conflicts , skirmishes and 'Police Actions ' but none as severe internationally ,
There have been two 'Pandemics since WW11 ,the Asian and the Hong Kong flu, the latter occurring  in 1968 so we have had 5 decades/Two generations  growing up without having to cope with or prepare for a worldwide emergency .