This isn’t really an effort to look for a silver lining, but one side effect of a global quarantine is that there are a lot fewer people dying from things like car accidents and falling tree branches. Fortunately, murder rates are plummeting, too, along with violent street crimes. This is most notable in Central America which has recently been dubbed “the murder capital of the world.”

Over in northern India, there are places where the Himalayans are reportedly visible for the first time in decades because there is so much less pollution in the air without people driving and engaging in a normal level of industrial activities. When people are locked in their homes, they cause less mayhem and do less environmental damage. But it’s also possible that the common threat caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is causing people to be a little more civic-minded. The are even reports of Mexican drug gangs enforcing social distancing and curfews in areas where they are dominant.

One day, we’ll walk out of our homes and out into the streets, on foot or in cars, and we’ll begin causing mayhem and damage again. Is it possible we’ll do a little less of it though? Maybe we’ll see more humanity in our neighbors and be less willing to assault strangers on the street? Maybe we’ll see a little more how collective action can make a real difference with climate change?

I’d like to think so. I’d like to think human nature includes to ability to learn and improve.