For many people, even here in Northern Virginia, the pandemic is over. For others it’s an ongoing crisis with no end in sight, made all the worse because we’ve tried to decide it’s over by force of will. I know liberals who are absolutely done with masks, and conservatives who are still being pretty cautious. And the media seems to be forgetting the pandemic already, as if it were just another news cycle.

But what made me come back to the pandemic, and to think of this title, was a drive around Fairfax County the other day, and dinner at a Chinese buffet. You can see the reduced foot traffic in restaurants and stores. There are two buffets along U.S. 1, where I ended my drive, and both were quite empty. Everything looks the same, the dishes they serve are the same, but you can sense, almost feel, the struggle to keep things going...