(Almost three years ago, in March of 2020, in response to the spread of the Covid-19 virus to the United States, I re-read Albert Camus’ masterful book, The Plague. With the Covid plague by no means over but currently in relative remission, hopefully for good — though new viruses could very well emerge at any time, especially among low-wealth people and elders — I am resending this column now. There’s definitely value to reflecting on Camus’ insights.)
“The truth is that nothing is less sensational than pestilence, and by reason of their very duration great misfortunes are monotonous. In the memories of those who lived through them, the grim days of plague do not stand out like vivid flames, ravenous and inextinguishable, beaconing a troubled sky, but rather like the slow, deliberate progress of some monstrous thing crushing all upon its path.”
-Albert Camus, The Plague, p. 179
I’ve read Camus’ classic novel, The Plague, three times, the third time just a couple of days ago, and each time the experience deepened my commitment to taking action for a better world. The main characters in the fictional book, all men, some from the beginning and some later, all throw themselves into the desperate, difficult and emotionally draining fight to prevent a hideous and deadly plague that erupts in the town of Oran, population 200,000 in North Africa, from overwhelming it. As they do so, Camus explores how, through their thoughts, their journal entries and their conversations, they try to…