17-March-2020
Yes, at the time of writing, the world has gone nuts and a lot of people are very fearful, as they have no idea what is happening and they certainly don’t have any control over what is happening.
Fear is an inbuilt mechanism designed to alert and prompt a response, to help all sentient organisms to survive (for a bit longer). Stand too close to the cliff, fear kicks in and prompts you to go somewhere safer. However, if you are going up against an invisible enemy, a virus like the Covid-19 that can make you sick or even kills you, then fear is going to make you do some very primitive and strange things. Things like hoarding toilet paper, or the avoidance of eating Chinese food, or thinking Corona beer can give you the virus, are prime examples of people losing their thinking brain and reverting to their primitive self, giving into fear and thereby thinking it will (somehow) help them survive. Although the mechanics of fear is within us, it does not make it ok or appropriate in all situations. That is, too much fear stops us from doing anything or being our best selves.
Look, a healthy dose of fear is generally a good thing, it enables us to look at things, rethink and makes us more careful and cautious. For example, by now, through generations of experience, you’d have the sense to not run around near cliffs. As an extra layer of public protection, there are barriers enacted separate you from the threat of falling from heights. When threats are well known and understood, we’ve found ways of dealing with them effectively and carry on with our lives. There are even safe tourist attractions built over the cliffs to illustrate our conquest of fear.
Sadly, the world isn’t as well prepared for pandemics, although it’s much better than in the past but some would argue it’s still not enough. So, in the absence of complete knowledge on the corona virus, vaccines and cures or easy ways of stopping transmission completely, it’s no wonder why our fears have gone into overdrive. At the moment of writing, Covid-19 cases are confirmed in most countries of the world. Thus, it can be argued that it’s everywhere and everyone is a potential carrier, where every surface can be a potential source of infection. However, that said, humans are resilient creatures and there are effective ways to deal with the virus situation. In another words, wiser people have used their brains instead.
The latest advice from the various authorities is to wash hands (for 20-30 seconds) often and avoid touching your face. Having social distancing (of 1.5m) and avoid any unnecessary gathering of any kind. NB: Please go and look up the latest as it can change depending on developments. It was said that during the bubonic plague, the Pope listened to the advice of his doctors and sat near fires – the thinking was that fires have some kind of healing properties. Coincidentally, he survived because the fleas carrying the vector couldn’t get to him due to the heat from the fires. So, the moral of the story is to listen to good & authorised advices and invest in science.
Yours truly isn’t some wise sage and can offer you nothing more to help to deal with the current situation. However, looking further out, this crisis will eventually blow over and we need to plan better for the long run. We must learn our lessons and ensure there are more robust investments in science and health care. There is a Chinese proverb, which is ‘to dig the well before you are thirsty’ and the meaning to the world is clear, to plan ahead. There will be another virus crisis (or indeed other types of crisis) down the line and we need to look at our priorities. Bill Gates and many other scientists/doctors did warn of another pandemic coming but even the smartest billionaires, doctors/PhDs have only so much influence over the world. That said, if everyone is now smarter, collectively we can influence and make change.
There are many threats facing us as individuals, countries and humanity at large. We all have different priorities and agendas. There is never enough money to go around. Let’s face it, if you just won a $1 million bucks and the choice was solely between a $1m donation to a developing country hospital or an upmarket condo for yourself, chances are the majority would choose the condo. That said, when people are richer and their basic needs are met, most do give some form of charitable donations/work as a small portion of their wealth. So then, if you are fairly well off or you live in a country where you can direct money to health care for the masses, including the poor (either home or aboard), then it shouldn’t be an argument about how hard you work and therefore you deserve to keep all of your money (instead of paying some taxes) and thus shouldn’t have to subsidise those ‘lazy’ poor people who can’t afford health care.
The virus is going to strike whether you are rich or poor, although the rich certainly has more resources to deal with it. However, history has shown us, even the Czar Nicholas II and King Louis XVI did not avoid their revolutionary fate by being rich. So, it’s only by allocating more resources to science, health and the collective goods of society that everyone wins, where the rich and poor alike has better odds of enjoying their lives. This isn’t about socialism, it’s more about investment into societies and communities, to enable them to function and thrive, to guard against chaotic and catastrophic consequences stemming from humanities’ descend into madness.
It’s also not about whether the virus was sourced from some parts of Europe, Africa, Asia or North America, what matters now is, as a global community, we all need to work together and solve this problem (and among others) as a united front. We like to think when we are in trouble, we deserve and thus entitled to help unequivocally. Yet when the problem strikes someone or somewhere else, we distance ourselves and think it’s their problem and offer just mere sympathies. It is time to recognise problems don’t just affect one person or one place, the world is intricately linked and everyone can be affected. Not to understate, we are all in this together and we must stand together.
In the meantime, be smart, be rational, be careful. It is ok to acknowledge you are afraid and fearful but don’t let that take over. Humanity has survived many crises before and chances are you will survive this one too. Hope is abundant, only if you choose to make some (small) sacrifice for the greater good and help each other out. Together we are strong but being an idiot will simply means harming ourselves, our love ones and humanity at large. (Think of that one guy in the movie who ran first and the whole defence line collapses). So, don’t be that idiot.
Struggle Perpetual 