From My Mind to Paper- The Corona Pandemic and What’s Next

The assessment provided is purely from the perspective of a layperson and I do not possess any expertise in the medical field whatsoever or any unique business expertise outside of my real world experiences and academic credentials (or education) in the specific professional fields discussed in this post.

My assessment or takeaway from this insightful and potentially failing forward moment for the world is broken down into the following categories:

1. Origin of this pandemic (the why)
2. responses by the governments
3. Reaction by commercial business/financial sectors
4. Reaction by the medical sector
5. The human reaction

The origins of this pandemic (the why):

The origins of all man-initiated pandemics is a clear disrespect, arrogance, and blatant disconnect from nature. We have become arrogant we think we are masters over everything, “the stewardess”. Whatever vice or whatever pleasure we want, we pursue it! Animals, plants, birds, nature and the earth belong to us they are ours to serve and master. We approach our preparations in the most arrogant ways possible because we think we really understand the capabilities of nature when we don’t. We don’t respect that all animals and all plants are not made for our amusement or to satisfy a fabricated or false appetite. Man eats animals that, from the mere look of them, do not appear to be appetizing at all. People eat snails, snakes, squids, sharks, dogs, cats, monkeys, deer, ants, grubs, insects, horses, worms, and the list goes on and on. In some places these interesting creatures are eaten out of a lack of options and other places they are eaten because of their exoticness. Eating and the unnecessary killing of the wild and exotic has become a hobby, a sport, something to be entertained by, something to have a gastronomic experience over. Some animals and plants were never intended to be eaten by man but our untamed and unchecked curiosity however just like the first person who thought a squid would make a great entree or a great appetizer we forged on. Let’s not stop with eating things that were not meant to be consumed by our bodies but let’s evade the habitats of these creatures and capture them to sell for exotic zoos for our entertainments. Why does that surprise anyone? Man did the same thing when they came across other indigenous people like when the Europeans went to the dark continent, they kidnapped Africans to showcase them in their circus. Where there is no respect for nature, for what gives warmth, our natural food supply, and the air we breathe; there will be no respect nor will there be an appreciation or value for the place that we all play a role in. This intricate ecosystem, that we claim to understand but we harm with reckless abandonment. Human beings spend billions of dollars to travel to outer space per year and  I wonder what the real motive is when we have not done in everything in our collective powers to make this planet the best it can be.

Responses by Governments:

To be very blunt all governments have been reactive in this pandemic and they will continue to be until the governments start taking emergency and crisis management seriously, and this will require for them to stop training in isolation. They need to train and exercise the resolve of the people they will strive to protect during the crisis or emergency. Governments, like most people, underestimate the reaction of people to chaos. The governments of the world have made law and order the way things should be but order in a crisis or a truly global pandemic will never be contained with countries and governments operating in isolation and focusing on their own wellbeing, when what they do or don’t do have a world-wide implication. What the United States isn’t doing during this pandemic will impact the livelihood of millions, if not billions of people. Governments and government systems are meant to fail and like the natural order of things they must evolve and adapt but governments are, by a large part, run by the elite. At least this seems to be the case in the western countries, as governments are really controlled by the big businesses and their elites. So, should we really be surprised that governments are not handling such crisis in the best manner possible?! because in all actuality, how many governments are structured to handle such global unrest?! Will our governments fail forward or will it be business as usual once the calm comes after the storms? Governments need to actually look at how they are structured and their systems but will they be able to when it’s an election season in the case of the US?

Reaction by commercial business/financial sectors:

Businesses were caught off guard by the pandemic and why shouldn’t they! Businesses are structured like governments they are mostly run and managed by people who are in positions to play a finite game and achieve finite results. Businesses are reacting to the pandemic, not necessarily to care for their employees, but to minimize the possible financial downfall of employees who are infected during working hours when they all should be home with their loved ones. But people are now trying to be productive at home with their kids and spouses while also trying to ensure they are going to get infected but the message we get is: “we care about our number one asset, the people”. For Profit Businesses are in place largely to make money or make the most profit possible while minimizing cost; because they are being publicly traded, and the same people who are the biggest assets are also the ones investing in those companies. So, millions of people are being laid off in the US which means millions of possible investors are no longer able to invest, which means businesses will continue losing money. Now how will these millions of people, who also have homes and mortgages, pay their bills to keep up with a lifestyle above their means or most importantly above the real need. So, as you can see this is an example of cascading failure. Instead of companies operating at a loss and take a one year hit, they start another possible crisis -financial market collapse- which will also put a financial strain on governments to pay unemployment benefits.

Reaction by the medical sector:

The medical sector, in all honesty, is doing the best they can fighting an unknown virus that has similarities to the most recent pandemics-Ebola, MERS-CoV and Swine Flu. How can medical professionals realistically be expected to save, diagnose something they have never encountered, never been trained to combat, and with a failing supply chain where most goods come out of China?! So, we have medical professionals who are ill-equipped, working countless hours, with the stress of worrying about their own families, friends and their own well-being, and the expectation to save lives under extreme conditions, that only military medical professions in live combat are trained to handle.

The human reaction:

Our reactions as human beings, are to be expected: it’s survival of the fittest or is it really survival of those who are able to adapt to the new norm. In some cases we have reacted like the animals, that we claim to be masters of,  we react irrationally and fight each other to acquire goods so they can feel safe. They start making light of the seriousness of the pandemic by generating and circulating countless jokes to entertain each other. They complain that they are trapped in houses they have paid hundreds of thousands to acquire in debt but cannot stay inside for more than a couple of days without having cabin fever! It’s interesting how much we spend for comfort but when we are faced with actually being in our homes and with our loved ones we call it torture.

The human condition is truly one of the marvels of the universe and it will continue to be because we want to master everything except mastering the most important thing in the world which is mastering ourselves. Our constant thirst and appetite for the unnecessary things in life will continue to prove to be our Achilles heels.  We are a double edge swords we are the gifts and the curses.

After this pandemic is under control we will make movies and produce TV shows about the pandemic, and travel the world. Businesses will make finite decisions to sell products that will prepare us for the next known pandemic, but we will still be ill-prepared. Until a global shift change in our behaviours takes place, and we actually try to reconnect with nature and acknowledge that we will not survive if we destroy our earth or consume things that should not be consumed.

So, in summary where there is no real deep desire for change and real steps to change our behaviour, decrease consumption rates, and for governments across the globe to work collaboratively to prepare for the next pandemic, we will be at the mercy of a new pandemic.

Author: Pasha