The Nation - 06.04.2020

April 6, 2020 The Nation. 11

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struck down. He was smarter than today’s fundamentalists

who blame disasters on gays, feminists, and liberals—to

say nothing of Trumpies who believe the coronavirus is a

Democratic hoax or Rush Limbaugh, who told his millions

of listeners that it’s called Covid-19 because it’s the 19th

coronavirus, thus obviously something that happens all the

time. (In fact, 19 stands for 2019, the year Covid-19 began.)

The fecklessness and selfishness of the rich is another

human constant. Defoe mentions that the king and queen

fled to Oxford, where the court continued its hedonistic

and profligate ways. To be fair, the king reportedly do-

nated £1,000 a week, which was real money back then, to

relieve London’s sick and poor. Today’s aristocrats are just

as egotistical but arguably less charitable: They’re flying on

private jets to their homes in supposedly safer countries,

hunkering down in military-style bunkers.

They’re definitely not having as much fun as the

wealthy young people in Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron,

who escaped the 1348 plague by holing up in the Floren-

tine countryside, flirting and telling sexy stories. Even if

you don’t possess a charming Italian villa and are stuck

with your children in your too-small apartment, you can

take a leaf from Boccaccio. You’ll get depressed if you let

yourself go, so keep your standards up. Wear your pretty

clothes. (I’ve got my purple Rothy’s flats on.) Drink and eat

delicious things, go for walks, play music and games, keep

up your friendships, real and virtual.

And wouldn’t it be great to come out of this time with

something to show for it besides an encyclopedic knowl-

edge of crap TV? Why not try to write or paint or draw

something or read some challenging books.

The Decameron is over 800 pages long, so if you start

now, you’ll have plenty of time to finish it before life goes

back to normal. If it ever does. Q

The fecklessness

and selfishness

of the rich is

another human

constant. Today’s

aristocrats are

just as egotistical

but arguably less

charitable.

SNAPSHOT / DITA ALANGKARA

Sea Change

An employee in protective gear sprays disinfectant

near a tank at SeaWorld Ancol in Jakarta, which

closed on March 14 in the wake of the coronavirus

pandemic. The city, like many others around the

world, shut down all schools, entertainment spots,

and tourist destinations.

RELIEFER

Jared Kushner steps in to fix White House’s chaotic response

to the pandemic. —News reports

He’s tasked with devising a Middle East peace,

Has other portfolios equally grand.

So why aren’t we breathing a sigh of relief

That Jared’s arrived and will take things in hand?

Calvin

Trillin

Deadline

Poet