The Hum of Humanity
The city manifests togetherness, and in troubled times, her citizens expect the collective goodness of humanity will be made visible. The city in the early days of Covid-19 was understandably dreary, and so togetherness struggled to materialize. Since the Trump 2016 coronation, goodness had ceased to be the norm. The maskless advertised a disregard for the wellbeing of others, so they were to be avoided. The masked, on the other hand, were cautious, and went out of their way to avoid proximity to others, as they often did anyhow. If they were smiling at one another, they could not know. In one another’s eyes, there was a shapeless sadness that rendered their faces expressionless.
Hum-in — Euthymia had a simple and elegant idea for a performance. She would arrange six musical tones into a symmetrical melody; three notes, followed by three notes. She would teach this melody to all of the people in her city. She envisioned it to be performed in the streets as a hocket: when walking by a person, you would hum three notes, and they would answer with the next three notes. The melody would be a new way to smile without a visible mouth.
Euthymia named her melody The Great Hum-In. The first performance was in Golden Gate Park. Participants moved about, seeking partners for the hocket. Others gathered in groups of six, and hummed the melody one note per person, and repeated the pattern for hours. Thanks to a few viral videos, the melody spread around the world, and in no time it became the new way to say hello on the street. People who study such things commented that this would become the new handshake. But something else happened.
Drown-out — In early June 2020, as people all over the world tuned into President Trump’s daily performance of the absurd press conference, it had appeared that something was amiss. Everytime he spoke, the tones of Euthymia’s melody whirled around the microphone. Trump, in keeping with his policy of denial, kept taking and talking, yet all that was heard was a humming not unlike a muted trumpet. He had hoped on this day to plunge to new depths of hate and ignorance. But instead, he had no voice. Commentators on his propaganda network attempted to stoke division on his behalf, but no words came out. Instead of their usual praise-singing of the virtues of deranged brutality in lieu of knowledge, they simply hummed. From the look in their eyes you’d think they had never before seen beauty. It was really quite a thing to witness, and this was just the beginning. Flowers grew from gun barrels, and confederate flags transmogrified into honey bees, replenishing the population with sweetness. Needless to say, people were astounded by the performance, and it was extended throughout the Covid summer.
Thanksgiving Revival — A large majority had opposed Trump’s attempted coup d’etat, but his followers continued to argue about it, perhaps loud enough to be heard over the persistent hum of the world in harmony. On Thanksgiving 2020, as families gathered for the first time in months, the New York Times predicted that this would be the most politically divided holiday in history. But thankfully on that day, arguments became melody. The overtones of humanity’s humming overwhelmed the virus and all was healed.
