Why doesn’t the COVID pandemic make people more loving?

Is COVID making us more loving? Or more hating?  That question came to mind when I first wrote this in August 2020.  But now, in January 2022, I must change the question to Why doesn’t the COVID pandemic make people more loving? It’s sad to do that. And I know that in some cases it does make people more loving. But I can’t help but wonder, why doesn’t it happen to a much larger extent?

At that time in 2020, I had a half-hour inside an MRI tube with nothing to do, and this is where my mind went.  At first, I was thinking about the folks working so I can get my MRI to see how my cancer was doing.  They risk getting sick, and even maybe dying, to take care of us.  And most people would say they appreciate that. 

Now, in 2022, I just went back into active surveillance for the cancer. And sadly, the topic is still relevant. Maybe even more sadly, and probably because of the extent of the lack of caring, my question has now changed.

The original version started like this:

So COVID makes us more loving, right?  But does it really?  If we truly loved and cared about our medical workers, first responders, and even the admin people in hospitals and care centers, then we’d act differently.  We’d wear a mask in public.  We’d avoid large gatherings.  Why?  Because those things lead to fewer people being sick.  And that, in turn, leads to fewer people requiring medical care.  Obviously, or at least it should be obvious, all of those things lead to fewer medical people being exposed to COVID, getting sick, and possibly dying.

And then the original asked the question, in that light, is COVID making you more loving?