In the fall of 2020, many acres of green space on the iconic National Mall in Washington DC full of memorials to war heroes and innocent victims were covered with thousands of white flags. During the installation, visitors were invited to personalize flags for loved ones who died not in war, but from Covid-19. 

It is said that COVID-19 has now killed more Americans than World War II, but the answer to the question of how many people have died from the Covid-19 pandemic depends both on the available data and on how you define “because”. What about the people who could not get immediate help because hospitals were full? How many people committed suicide because they were crippled by Covid? 

We are still in deep pain and shock, but the question is, do we not need the comparison with war in this case to illustrate our post-pandemic mood? At least it was not a war, or am I wrong? The problem with the word war is that it sounds like it: Sooner or later we will fight the enemy and the situation will not repeat itself. Unfortunately, history shows that pandemics have ragged endings. Some return again and again.  

So how did it start? I am not asking about the Covid…, we know the answer, but about the war narrative? Well, such a comparison started with politicians and media. Medial workers were called warriors and coronavirus was called an enemy. Nevertheless, the temptation to use terms of war is great: When we say that we can defeat the enemy, it fills us with hope.The truth is perhaps that we no longer need terms of war because in this case we do not need bombs. All we need is information, solidarity and compassion. How can we do that? Well, the lesson can come from the USA.  

 Let us take the art installation I mentioned again. This is our new landscape…, not after the war, but after Covid-19. The installation resembled something… Yes, it resembled the Arington Cementary…That’s the right comparison.