Some of the more fantastic ethical dilemmas I encountered as a child were accompanied by Rod Serling's haunting narration on black and white episodes of The Twilight Zone. It's only now, as an adult member of society during a public health crisis, that I am able to draw fully on the parables from that strange and unforgettable sci-fi series.
One of the most disappointing aspects of COVID has been how many daily instances of selfish behavior one can witness. Groups of people congregating en masse on the beach with no regard for social distancing. Watching someone berate the lowest paid and most vulnerable essential workers for enforcing required mask-wearing in grocery stores. Add this to the unnerving distrust of science and paradoxical disdain for public health expertise, and the result is our American exceptionalism is managing the disease exceptionally poorly.
It brings to mind one classic episode of The Twilight Zone. In it, a down and out couple receive a mysterious brown paper package on their doorstep. It contains a small wooden box with a button. The interior of the box is empty, and the button does not seem to be attached to anything.
Later in the episode, a strange man in a trenchcoat shows up at the door to explain the package. If either of the couple press the button, two things will happen:
- They will receive a life-changing sum of money.
- Someone they don't know will die.
The man explains that they have a limited number of hours in which to act, after which he will return to reclaim the box.
The remainder of the episode explores the couple grappling with the moral implications of doing something for personal gain that results in the death of an anonymous person.
In the end, they opt to press the button. As soon as they do, the man appears with the promised sum of cash. As he reclaims the box and exits their home, he promises them, "Rest assured, the next recipient of the box will be someone you don't know..."
That's the thing with COVID. Your small selfish act today has the potential to return, with a multiplier effect, as great personal harm tomorrow.
This is not only about risking the health of marginalized or frail elderly that society was already on the verge of placing on ice floes (although our worth as a society is reflected in how we collectively care for the most vulnerable among us). The young are also at risk. Some are learning too late that they are less invincible than once thought.
Please don't push the button.