CORONAVIRUS SHOWS THE BEST AND THE WORST OF HUMAN BEINGS

Humanity was not prepared for the pandemic and for an impact as catastrophic as the one we are suffering.

That is why respirators and masks are not enough, and a vaccine –experts say—could take a year or more to be produced.

But in the meantime, the pandemic is showing how the population of the planet as a whole is not prepared for any kind of event that suddenly happens and involves the whole World.

Imagine what would be if we were to deal with an invasion from outer space. Quite frankly, we would be terrified and will succumb as a civilization to the point of extinction.

Now we are at war with an invisible invader that penetrates the human body and creates pneumonia and a lot of deplorable effects with the high possibility of death.

Confronted with this situation, what I see is a bleak outlook.

On one side there are the people who at their personal risk is fighting fiercely for the health of others: doctors, nurses, assistants, police, firefighters, first responders, etc.

People who donate to charities and institutions involved in the well being of those who are sick and their families. People who effectively develop chains of solidarity, sharing and distributing food, clothes, alcohol gel, masks, etc.

People who take the situation with personal responsibility, keep themselves at home, avoid contact with others, maintain social distance, and if they have to leave their homes and have to deal with other people they cover their faces (nose and mouth) with a scarf, a kerchief or a mask provided they have. Those are the most effective measures to combat the spread of the virus.

I see temples, social clubs and stadiums converted in hospitals. That’s the great response of a society where there are people of good heart.

But regretfully, this pandemic is showing us the other face of de-humanizing people.

It is the face of egoism, trying to take the more they can and leaving empty supermarkets and provision centers, hoarding food, disinfectants, toilet paper, and many other goods.

It is the face of irresponsibility, organizing parties, or going on vacation to places where there wouldn't be social distance, facilitating, therefore, the contagion of the virus and its spread in the population.

It is the face of inefficient and/or corrupt governments, that don’t take initiatives to treat the sick, to prevent the spread of the virus among the population, shutting roads, shutting schools and universities, and prohibiting any kind of show and the running of theaters, movies, and sports activities.

It is the face of miserable companies that exploit the situation to overcharge the price of those resources in need as respirators, masks, and medicines, or the selling of those articles to other countries when they are needed in the country where the company belongs.

There is no unity, there is ignorance, there is no awareness of the danger, apparently, there is no fear to die.

And to complete this picture, there are those charlatans that using social media suggest a combination of substances as efficient remedies, or ask for rituals to avoid the virus.

I really think that this pandemic with the coronavirus shows the best and the worst of human beings.

The challenge is to increase the best, and reduce the worst to its minimal expression.

Milton W. Hourcade