{"id":29929,"date":"2022-01-22T14:42:30","date_gmt":"2022-01-22T20:42:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/?p=29929"},"modified":"2022-01-22T14:42:30","modified_gmt":"2022-01-22T20:42:30","slug":"what-is-normal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/2022\/01\/what-is-normal\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Normal?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Here we are . . . .\u00a0 It\u2019s January 22, 2022. It\u2019s windy outside. Cold, yet blindingly bright. What snow we had in Milwaukee County has mostly melted, yet winter isn\u2019t even a month old at this writing. Classes resume for the \u201cspring\u201d semester on Monday, the 24th<\/sup> of January 2022, having been delayed for a week so Marquette University can address the burgeoning Omicron variant of the COVID virus. It is this writer\u2019s second \u201cspring\u201d semester at Marquette University Law School and the second spent in the global COVID pandemic.<\/p>\n

Back when acceptance letters were being delivered to the class of law students who will graduate in May 2023, scarcely a person on the planet predicted\u2014or even truly considered\u2014that two years hence, we would still be in the throes of a devastating pandemic. And yes, devastating is the correct word to use here, but it isn\u2019t the only word that can be used. The pandemic, for some aspects of life, has been confusingly constructive and progressive. Despite this, many still ask, \u201cWhen will things return to normal?\u201d<\/p>\n

Personally, this writer struggles to comprehend what is normal in most situations\u2014a flaw, perhaps, that has existed since youth. But let\u2019s put the question to the reader: What is normal? Is normal waking up most days, Monday through Friday, getting ready and heading to work? Is normal groaning about the state of the economy and the state of the government? Is normal wondering why, suddenly, you can\u2019t find any of the sundry items you usually buy at your local grocery store? Is normal going to class, in person, and taking notes from a professor who is droning on and on at the front of the classroom despite the glazed look in the students\u2019 eyes? Perhaps, if you\u2019re like this writer, normal is that state of bemusement one finds oneself in when trying to figure out what normal is.<\/p>\n

For most folks, all those questions probably crossed the mind for what normal is, though all those questions are insufficient to adequately convey what is meant by normal. Colloquially, it seems as though, when speaking of normalcy, people simply mean the state of being in which they existed prior to whatever thing changed dramatically in their life. Dramatically because we rarely notice the small changes in life when they first occur, like that toothache that has probably been there for three years but is now causing untold pain. We might think that normal in that situation means going back maybe a year, not knowing we\u2019ve had the cavity for four years.<\/p>\n

But is that really normal? Throwing the word normal into the Bing search engine produces the following definition:\u00a0 \u201cthe usual, average, or typical state or condition<\/a>.\u201d Ok, cool. Normal is just what we usually expect . . . .\u00a0 Wait, that\u2019s maddeningly unhelpful for someone wondering when things will go back to normal . . . .\u00a0 So, when do we go back to normal? \u00a0The question is easily answered, at least as it relates to law. The answer is: \u00a0We\u2019ve been at normal since shortly after the pandemic began.<\/p>\n

While some commentators wish you to believe that things are never going to return to normal, such a claim is rather myopic. What those commentators really mean is that things have changed from what they are and this thing happening now is normal. Duh. That\u2019s what normal is. Normal is what you expect, according to the definition. Normal for the pandemic began, for most folk, after they grasped the concept that washing hands and wearing a mask when you\u2019re sick is expected or the usual, typical practice in a society that cares about its population. For us legally-minded folk, normal also began at that time, but our normal was still settling.<\/p>\n

We existed in a state of abnormality as long as we attempted to argue with the reality of things. When courts began to hold hearings and trials in virtual spaces (utilizing what has been termed \u201cthe metaverse\u201d), much of the legal community balked and wanted to everything to stay as it had. But that isn\u2019t normal. Normal isn\u2019t resisting change. Normal is changing, adapting with your circumstances. Evolving. In the classroom, normal is not meeting physically but is, rather, meeting\u2014if at all\u2014to exchange ideas and have our ideas probed and scrutinized. Sure, part of the expectation was meeting in a classroom, a physical classroom, but that hardly makes having virtual class abnormal.<\/p>\n

Not only are virtual classrooms normal, but digital learning has been normal since Millennials were in grade school; most of our generation learned how to type on a computer before middle school. Virtual court is also normal. It is a bit challenging, at first, but that is only true if one expects something that isn\u2019t reality. Practically speaking, not much has changed in the way court is conducted virtually. Attorneys still have filing dates, witnesses are still called, the media still covers high-profile cases. Maybe the virtual component is a little awkward because humans still crave that interpersonal connection, but aside from the awkwardness of staring into a camera rather than someone\u2019s eyes, not much has changed.<\/p>\n

What is the point of this post?\u00a0 What does this writer hope you take away? Honestly, this writer hopes that you leave with an open mind. Understand that the COVID pandemic is not abnormal. It has progressed in a predictable, i.e., typical, fashion; the public\u2019s response to the policies enacted by government to curb the spread have been understandable; and the changes needed are the usual changes. Let\u2019s stop acting like this is all new. It isn\u2019t. We\u2019ve been here before, and we\u2019ll doubtless be here again. In the meantime, accept that life is normal just not the way it used to be. Embrace the changes and dive into whatever it is that makes you tic. Let\u2019s skip the tired conversation of why you aren\u2019t going to get the vaccine for personal reasons.\u00a0 No one cares. That isn\u2019t to say that your personal convictions are not valid, they are. But if you, the reader, don\u2019t care about the reasons folks around you are getting vaccinated, why should you expect them to care about the reasons you aren\u2019t? That\u2019s abnormal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here we are . . . .\u00a0 It\u2019s January 22, 2022. It\u2019s windy outside. Cold, yet blindingly bright. What snow we had in Milwaukee County has mostly melted, yet winter isn\u2019t even a month old at this writing. Classes resume for the \u201cspring\u201d semester on Monday, the 24th of January 2022, having been delayed for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":287,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,122,352],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal-education","category-public","category-student-contributor","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/287"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29929"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29934,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29929\/revisions\/29934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}