I haven’t been out of the country in more than a year—the longest stretch since I was 23.
On March 4, 2020, I had a 10-day teaching stint planned at Oxford and in London. I didn’t go. And I am more than fine with it. I have learned that I never again want to travel the way that I once did.
My professional stay-at-home life is working out well. I became director of the Hoover Institution on Sept. 1, and I have only been in the building once. Yet conferences and research activities continue remotely with better attendance, since travel is no longer an obstacle. Virtual seminars and webinars are reaching people who would never have come to Palo Alto. We are productive and efficient. But Stanford is a ghost town—a university without students feels weird.
“ My pandemic life is pretty good. And it makes me a bit guilty to say that—because for so many it really is a struggle. ”
In my personal time, I have learned that remote strength training and Pilates work just fine. So too do piano lessons on Zoom. I spent last summer wrestling the Chopin F Minor Ballade to the ground. My piano teacher retired and moved to Pennsylvania, where we will continue to work together “virtually.” I would never have thought to do that before 2020. And golf is God’s gift to social distancing and a reason to get outside.
Not all has gone well. I have attended Zoom funerals for four people who I loved. I have celebrated Easter with the disembodied heads of my family—and it looks as if I will again this year. I miss holidays with family and friends.
Still, my pandemic life is pretty good. And it makes me a bit guilty to say that—because for so many it really is a struggle.
I worry about the inequality of work in the U.S., which the pandemic has revealed so starkly. Knowledge workers like me who sit at home and remain productive are worlds apart from the reality of the waitress who is unemployed. I am concerned about student learning loss, particularly among the poorest kids. I don’t understand why opening schools was not deemed essential.
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In the depths of the pandemic, I found our national dialogue toxic, as elites scoffed at small-business owners who fought to work: “Don’t you understand that lockdowns are necessary?” Well, yes, but it is easy to say that if you are working from home, your paycheck secure. I hated the criticism of religious people who want to gather and worship, but I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t wear a mask. We were all so judgmental and couldn’t seem to walk in each other’s shoes.
But just when I became despondent about our behavior, I saw a story about a teenager delivering food to an elderly neighbor or a nurse determined to help a wife see her husband one last time—on FaceTime. There were many kindnesses to celebrate, large and small. These were signs that we will be OK.
The last year has been unnerving and frustrating at times, revealing and affirming at others. We have learned to take the unexpected in stride. Speaking of unexpected, my Cleveland Browns won a playoff game this season. Maybe next year—God willing—I can go and see them play.
—Dr. Rice is director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and was U.S. secretary of state from 2005
to 2009.
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The Link LonkMarch 19, 2021 at 08:17PM
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Condoleezza Rice on the Pandemic Year: The Inequalities of American Work - The Wall Street Journal
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