Willem Van der Voort Mrs. Hoog English 114 Period 3 February 20th, 2023 Sebastian Junger and the COVID-19 Pandemic The insurrection of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 was a dark chapter in American history. This event was a direct result of the growing political unrest and division that had been fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has had a profound impact on society, and it has served to amplify the existing tensions between different political groups. Though Sebastian Junger argues in his novel Tribe that during times of conflict, people come together to solve the issue at hand. Covid has complicated his argument by displaying people becoming more distant rather than coming together during crises. It now needs revision. Junger …show more content…
Covid has demonstrated that, rather than people uniting during times of conflict, the climate of the society is accentuated. Tribe was published in 2016, four years before the pandemic would complicate Junger's argument. In terms of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become evident that conflict is not necessarily bringing people closer together. Instead, the pandemic has accentuated the existing political and social divisions in society. The political divisions in the US have been exacerbated by the pandemic, as people have taken different positions on how to deal with the crisis. Some have advocated for stricter measures to slow the spread of the virus while others have opposed these measures, arguing that they are too restrictive and harmful to the economy. This disagreement has led to heated debates and protests, and it has further divided the country. Some people had become particularly attached to Donald Trump’s response to the pandemic, so this disagreement between plans of action can be seen as the reasoning behind the attack on the capitol but a few weeks before the inaugural ceremony. Also, these people found a community that they could relate to, a tribe, which they couldn’t have for months during the lockdown. This doesn’t validate what they did, but it provides an explanation. In addition to the political divisions, the COVID-19 pandemic has also had a significant impact on the economy, with millions of people