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Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs hosted Dr. Eric Klinenberg of New York University for its 36th annual Herbert Lourie Memorial Lecture on Health Policy. Klinenberg shared insights from his newest book exploring the long-term social and political effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Wednesday afternoon lecture.

The book, titled “2020: One City, Seven People, and the Year Everything Changed,” follows the experiences of seven New Yorkers during the global pandemic.

Klinenberg has worked since the pandemic to analyze the lasting effects of COVID-19, not just as a medical condition, but as a “social disease” that continues to plague the United States. During the lecture, he discussed his research with moderator Shannon Monnat, the director of the Center for Policy Research at Maxwell.

“We all experienced this massive trauma in which we saw something about ourselves and about our country,” Klinenberg said. “We realized that we are not necessarily capable of doing all the things we think we can to take care of ourselves. There was no one who was really in charge.”

As the pandemic intensified fear and anger across the general public, the widespread decision to “forget it and move on” led to crushing social effects, Klineberg said.

Klinenberg’s research explores the relationship between the post-pandemic social environment in the U.S. and the polarization of American politics since the 2020 presidential election. He concluded that the widespread distrust of politicians and the democratic system is a consequence of COVID-19-related hardships.

One group Klinenberg focused his research on was essential workers in the early months of 2020. He said this population was disproportionately composed of Black and Latino workers living in densely populated communities, many of whom weren’t offered additional healthcare benefits despite facing an increased risk for COVID-19 exposure.

According to a 2022 study published in the National Library of Medicine, essential workers had a 52% chance of exposure to the virus, while adults working from home had an 11% chance.

“Let’s be clear, to be called ‘essential’ in America in 2020 was to be deemed expendable,” Klinenberg said. “I think another reason that there’s as much distrust in America now is because there are a lot of people who feel taken advantage of … feel like their leaders or institutions turned their back on them.”

He said the U.S. government failed essential workers profoundly, and acknowledged shortcomings not only of former President Donald Trump, but of politicians on both ends of the political spectrum.

Turning to the 2024 presidential election, Klinenberg said he has noticed a lack of pandemic-related commentary from both presidential candidates, Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. He said his new book aims to encourage difficult conversations about everyday pandemic experiences and recognize its continued effects.

To underscore this point, Klinenberg told the story of Daniel Presti, one of the seven New Yorkers featured in his book. Presti, a Staten Island native, had just acquired his liquor license and opened a bar in his home borough weeks before businesses were ordered to close across New York City in March 2020, Klinenberg said.

Following nine months of waiting for the New York Liquor Authority to approve his license, Presti had little money left and feared he couldn’t provide for his family, Klinenberg said. After following the city’s constantly changing regulations on bars and restaurants for months, he re-opened the bar in Nov. 2020.

Soon after, authorities directed him to close the bar. Presti resisted and hit a police officer with his car as he attempted to evade arrest. Klinenberg said far right groups such as the Proud Boys rallied in front of the bar to protest the arrests of Presti and his business partner. In the following months, Presti became involved in many far right circles.

When Klinenberg was searching for New Yorkers to interview for his book, he said he wanted to represent each borough of the city and have diversity in the backgrounds and ideologies of his interviewees.

Klinenberg said he initially hesitated about working with Presti, whose political ideologies were starkly different from his own. After contemplating sending out a tweet denouncing Presti and the protestors’ actions, he decided instead to talk with him and understand his perspective. In the end, he said Presti’s story “stuck with him particularly.”

“Solidarity and trust, social cohesion and capacity to act collectively matter tremendously,” Klinenberg said. “They’re going to matter for how we deal with the next pandemic, and they’re going to matter for how we deal with life after this election in November.”

Published on September 12, 2024 at 12:15 am

Contact Duncan: digreen@syr.edu