Dear Editor,
Over the past several weeks, like so many millions around the world, I have been compelled to pay persistent attention to the media coverage of the global pandemic of COVID-19, which continues to grow unabatingly.
For those of us who have been fortunate to survive thus far, there is not only the concern about if or when we will be engulfed; but we have been given pause for reflection about the substantive meaning of such an infliction upon the capacity of science, in the 21st century.
It gives further pause for reflection on the meaning of this scourge in the face of the various religious beliefs embedded across continents. Parti-cularly visible has been the Pope in a lonely prayer in Rome’s St Peter’s Square – in a country where, up to the time of viewing, 46 doctors had succumbed to the rampant pandemic disease.
So far, the coverage of countries in Asia and Africa have been comparatively limited, but nevertheless, their populations are expected to be increasingly affected.
Amongst the European countries, Spain and France, seen mostly as ‘Catholic’ populations, continue to succumb to the rampage. Meanwhile, there appears to be sufficient concern about the other European countries, to the extent that their recent summit meeting held to focus on an effective containment strategy, was reported to have been a comprehensive failure.
Along the way, South Korea and Japan, for example, have been praised for their respective approaches to responding proactively to this devastating life-changer, even though the highly anticipated Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 has been postponed.
Interestingly, one discerns no specific reference to the health environment in North Korea; while Russia has just commanded a ‘lock down’, as distinct from a ‘lock up’- taking example from the world’s largest democracy – India, too populous to accommodate substantial social distancing.
Against such a background, there appears to be full agreement that the ‘epidemic’ started in the Hubei Province of China, which the rest of the world observ-ed from much of a distance, and comfort, underestimating the immediate connectivity facilitated by the movements of various citizens by different hospitable airlines.
So that by the time of the arrival of the disease in the United States, it was described (euphemistically perhaps) as the Chinese-virus. Sadly, it was such political morality that misguided the non-scientific approach by the Federal Governance structure.
There was the protracted portrayal of emotional decision-making, highlighted by the persistent contradiction by their own Chief Medical Adviser – all against the foreground of an exponential rapid increase in the incidence of affected cases and deaths, in states like Washington, New York, Califor-nia, and expanding to all 50 states in varying degrees of intensity. The incidence of affliction in Italy is now surpassed.
State governors now complain of shortages of medical human capacity, testing equipment, protective gear, hospital beds, and indeed hospitals. Both medical staff and population are increasingly exposed.
Meanwhile, there continues to be an environment of prevarication, instead of a carefully coordinated strategic plan by a consensus of the Administration and state Governors – all of which have been complained of in both print and TV media.
Such a scenario has presented a puzzling example of decision-making at least; and even more discouraging is the portrayal of fundamentally partisan considerations that, at this critical point in history, misrepresent what is understood to be a ‘democratic’ process.
From the outputs of the recovery plan, negotiated in the US Congress and promulgated by the Administra-tion, emerge confused signals as to who deserves primary emergency benefits – the workers, or large companies in respect of whose subsistence the Chief Executive insists there is no reason for accountability.
What then is the message being sent to attentive developing countries around the world, but that ‘self-aggrandisement’ is more important to any economy than the survival and sustenance of those who work in, for (and under) it.
It is a devastating lesson to witness, and a discouraging pattern to emulate – in substantive contradiction, not only to the medical scientists who are committed to keeping all categories of the population alive; but also in defiance of the principles and best practices so many, including US CEOs, have written about in terms of balanced decision-making. Surely for the Republicans this has been an ingloriously wasted opportunity.
At a time when the health of nations of varying beliefs is under siege, and even Prime Ministers (e.g. of the UK) and Royalty are affected, there are so many of us in isolation, searching for a virtue to which to resort, a faith in which to believe.
Virtual Reality is but a chimera. We simply hold no trump cards. All the more reason we have to cling to our spirituality.
The following extract from Kahlil Gibran’s book ‘The Prophet” is not totally irrelevant:
“For reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction.
Therefore let your soul exalt your reason to the height of passion, that it may sing;
And let it direct your passion with reason that your passion may live through its own daily resurrection, and like the phoenix rise above its own ashes.”
How soon will be our time to rise?
Yours faithfully,
E.B John
