Year 1 CE (as in ‘Covid Era’)

Since March, the world resembles a disaster movie. For their plot, screenwriters follow a proven model: scientists warn about a threat—an earthquake, a volcano, a virus, a meteor, or a terrorist attack; politicians ignore the warning because of ignorance, stupidity, or opportunism; when the disaster occurs, some heroes save the day. Accustomed to this model, we are finding it difficult to reconcile ourselves with the fact that the screenwriters of the drama, in which we have found ourselves as actors and audience at the same time, have yet to make their minds: will there be a happy ending? And is this a feature movie or the first season of a series?

2020 was a remarkable year, by any standards. We saw how the pandemic, like every crisis, served as a magnifying glass for characters and behaviors, highlighting the greatness, self-sacrifice, and responsibility of some and the...