Disaster, Hope and Heroes - by Marc Z Jeffrey

 

Will Eisner (pencils) and Lou Fine (inks), uploaded by Roygbiv666 / Public domain

We all want to write words that inspire hope or bring life, but how can we frame our words in light of current events – such as the recent bushfires, floods and now the threat of serious disease – so that they hit home?

Coronavirus, COVID-19 to be precise, is here. And the predictions are scary. The Australian government may implement extreme measures to slow its spread. Businesses are likely to be impacted by disruptions to the supply chain, downturns in demand, or by workforces being compromised by infection or by needing to care for loved ones. So, unless workers can work from home, this could also flow on as severe personal financial hardship, a result multiplied across the land.  Nationally, that could push us toward deep recession. However you look at it, this virus could be disastrous news.

But, of course, we all hope and pray for a quick and effective solution without pain.

Besides the disease itself, the worst may well be the enforced isolation including the cancellation of community and sporting events to stop the spread. How will that affect us as a community?

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Nick-D Canbera 28 Jan, 2020

Community is what makes disasters recoverable. It is also what characterises Australians when there is an emergency. Just think of the role communities played in the recent national bushfire crisis. There was story after story of people backing each other up, pitching in to help with extraordinary offers, often in the face of unfathomable disaster.

But a community isolated from itself. Who survives that? Where do we draw the courage to fight on with true grit?

In the Great Depression and the Second World War, it was creative people that came to the fore with printed comic stories which rapidly gained popularity during the war years. The hallmark of these stories involved ordinary but very brave individuals turning extraordinary and overcoming great difficulties with the acquisition of great powers. The first of this genre featured Superman (in 1938), but other stories followed, including Batman (1939), Captain Marvel (1939), Wonder Woman (1941) and Captain America (1941).

Such a diversion was precisely what the population supporting the allied forces (which included the US and the UK and by extension, Australia) needed during the dark days of the Second World War. As in most wars, travel and freedoms were limited, work was often dangerous and communication heavily censored. Not only did the fictional comic stories provide a diversion from the dark reality of war and the constant threat of death and destruction, but the population could start believing again that the present reality could be overcome and peace could resume. The personas and achievements of these superheroes were, in many ways, a panacea.

This superhero comic book genre came to the fore and enjoyed strong popularity till a few years after the conclusion of World War II, in what became known as the golden age of comics. Some years after that, cinematography revived the waning genre to become the hit it is today.

Australia has not had a nationwide threat like COVID-19 for quite a time. Unlike in the bushfire emergency, we don’t really know where the safer places are – where we flee to when the out-of-control wildfire is approaching. We knew what to do then, but many people lost their homes, businesses and in some cases their lives anyway. This time it’s different. We don’t know well yet where the threat may come from and exactly how we should react when it does. It feels dark.

But do not be discouraged in these times of threat. We can rise above it and be a light, by our writing pointing to the love of our God who knows all things – love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Creative writers again have a part to play doing, in essence, what those 1940s comic writers did. Supported by electronic media we can enthral, encourage and point upward. By creating content that reaches above the threats and hidden dangers, we can be the community that helps our fellow Australians through tough times, by helping them believe.

So, what type of stories bring you hope? What memes inspire you to rise up above fear and the threat of the unknown?

Marc Z Jeffrey works for the Australian public service, but loves to write suspense and thrillers and the occasional whimsical dragon story. He loves editing fiction and can spot an errant apostrophe at a thousand paces.