Here we go again.
Those of us who do not know history are condemned to repeat it. Those of us who do know history are ignored at best and condemned at worst. It’s like watching the old movie, “Jaws,” with someone who’s never seen it and pausing the movie to argue about the mayor’s decision to reopen the beaches. It’s a summer town. They need the tourist dollars. It’s safe to go back into the water now.
Those of us who have seen the movie know what’s going to happen next, but its pointless to argue. Instead, we just press “play” and let our friends discover for themselves that the shark is not gone and they need a bigger boat.
Standing by and watching a similar scenario play out in real time and in real life with the health and well-being of people we care about at stake makes it impossible for those of us who know history to remain silent.
So we point out history and hope (perhaps foolishly) that we can change minds and see different results.
Woodrow Wilson was president when the Spanish Flu forced local communities to shut down schools and churches and forbid public funerals. There was no national plan to address this crisis — presumably because Wilson was focused on fighting the War to End All Wars and ensuring lasting world peace through the League of Nations. (Spoiler: We won that war, but peace remains elusive.)
Doctors and nurses went overseas, and so did the bulk of urgently needed medical supplies. Americans willingly did without many things to ensure the “boys overseas” had the resources they needed, but we weren’t as willing to make personal sacrifices to protect the health of our loved ones at home.
San Francisco had an anti-mask protest.
Closer to home, Fortville residents became fed up with multiple closures and reopening of schools and churches and confronted local officials in late November 1918. This led to a town meeting attended by officials, local physicians and probably a large number of vocal residents.
Fortville has always been a community where members take an active role and challenge their elected officials, so it’s hardly surprising that they pushed back against Health Officer Whitham’s seemingly unwarranted decision to close the Fortville school when only 4% of students were absent.
It’s also unsurprising that Fortville residents decided — after a presumably heated exchange of questions and answers — to impose more stringent measures than those originally planned. Fortville, like our other Hancock County communities, has always had a strong population of smart people who don’t just question authority, but listen to the answers, consider the reasoning and change their minds when convinced by hard facts and trustworthy individuals who know what they’re talking about.
After all, what was the point of closing the school if the children were just going to get together to play outside of school? Or closing churches if neighbors were going to mingle inside stores? Those who had originally opposed restrictions then worked with those they’d been arguing with to develop plans to safeguard the health of Fortville residents. They were not, of course, 100% successful, and they probably continued arguing among themselves, because that’s what we humans have been doing since the first argument over whether the wheel should be round or square.
But they set aside any political, personal or religious differences they may have had and they gave it their best effort.
We should do the same.
The second wave of the Spanish Flu was worse than the first, and more people died from the Spanish Flu than died in World War I.
We should not be paranoid; but we should be cautious. Poverty is awful. Death is worse. There is no recovery from death.
Please wear a mask, shop local, practice safe distancing, and respect the hard work of the many members of our community who are keeping things going during this difficult time.
We’re all in this together.
A lifelong resident of Hancock County, Linda Dunn is an author and retired Department of Defense employee.
