This comment about my reflections as a historian thinking on the pandemic (form my AMA a few days ago) seems to have struck a chord with a lot of people on Tumblr (thanks for sharing birdblog!) so I'm sharing it here too. (Full text follows in thread)
https://birdblogwhichisforbirds.tumblr.com/post/616072632156258304/from-ada-palmers-discord-ama-today-as-a-historian

As a historian I’m awed by how GREAT a job humanity is doing now, the first pandemic where we’ve understood hygiene, hand-washing, where we’ve had actions we could take. In 1918 they didn’t even discuss delaying the election because there was nothing they could’ve done... 1/?

...to make it safer even if they delayed it, they didn’t know enough about how the disease spread to disinfect stuff or anything. I know we’re focusing a lot on the mistakes that are being made and they’re HUGE mistakes, but since my head is usually in the pre-modern world...2/?

...I sit in awe at how much we’re doing, how sure we are we can handle it together as a species, how empowered we are, and how much we’re reaching out and being warm and helping each other. Some governments are botching, individuals are botching, but... 3/?

...the collective is doing one of the most impressive things any species has ever done in the history of this planet. We just need to keep reminding ourselves of that. 4/4