“It might be, in all likelihood, a far cry from what we’re undergoing”.
To put it into perspective, the so-called “civilization” we humans grappled for would hardly be that “civilized” without such corrupted things as pandemics. For they once helped get this planet into a good shape, Corona, the most recent one, is, most likely, undertaking such a “mission” again forasmuch as we’re witnessing a watershed moment in contemporary history.
We’re adapting
Changes take place in so subtle a manner that we’ve all too often failed to notice.
For the most part, our perceptions towards life and death have evolved, yet hardly has every individual discerned; thus, we got blown up by such transition. So have our lives.
Things once considered fictitious have crept upon us in such a clear manner that we could hardly ever imagine.
Employees can now take on online commissions. Teachers have also gone online to teach their students (which goes against their will), forasmuch as students have lapped up an extended vacation, adhering to an enduring. We’re, in all likelihood, earning less, hanging out less, traveling less, and talking less. Still, we’ve so far barely grasped any suffering. We’re instead giving it the go-ahead.
Life, as a rule, seems more threadbare and painful. Still, for we have been granted full rights to upbeat about our all-time-lowkey-health, as well as the so-called “little freedom,” “existential crisis” complaints are now nowhere to be found. And this is when even epidemics overwhelm self-helps.
Absurdity all over ambushes us. Even the most imaginative man could hardly ever visualize that toilet paper was the first product people panic bought in the US, or instant noodles have been stockpiled at home while conventional foods still are bounteous. Action bias has, to all appearances, stirring up feelings of “must-do-something”, even if it means to act nonsensically.
Standpoints have also evolved. We are witnessing the embodiment of South Korea, China, the US, and Europe ikons. And bizarrely, patriotism has somehow skyrocketed. Even the Propaganda Department could hardly ever surmise such a situation.
That said, for the West, one way or another, still is overwhelming our minds, the oversea epidemic news is seemingly a more “topical,” thus alluring topic.
The shift in opinion, to certain extents, have even been extreme (to be frank, for the most parts). Overseas, once whom Vietnamese took pride in, or daydreamt of, are now coerced to return in a “sinful” manner. Should the isolation room get dirt on, you won’t even be allowed to bellyache (?!)
Should tautness escalate, things might get further-reaching.
Things once considered “absurd,” are now “perfectly sane,” thanks to the epidemic.
Humans, on the micro-level, still are firmly holding their independence — freedom — happiness.
That said, not until we zoom out can we notice how robustly we’ve been maneuvered.
The world is metamorphosing
For the most part, the game theory has been domineering both individual and national behaviors during the time of the pandemic. A man bought a hundred rolls of toilet paper for he believed that had he not done such thing, others would, and he, then, would have been underprivileged. A danger foreseen is half avoided. Thus, wasn’t stockpiling better than sitting still?
That said since everyone stockpiled, all have been underprivileged.
It also applies to the national level. A country should only wholeheartedly dedicate upon knowing for sure that others have had their back. If not, countries of early quarantine could, in all likelihood, be abashed, as well as handicapped. They might eventually find themselves gambling with political risks.
To demonstrate, the IMF has it that it cost China roughly $ 200,000,000,000 during the last two months, grappling with the pandemic [2].
This helps explain why the EU delayed the prevention of pandemics. Italy even banned China entries before the US [3]. Still, it has been turned into an outbreak zone, for other countries did not follow this movement. Europeans, again, were traveling freely. In the end, an aging population, together with a “favorable “climate, spearheaded every case to Rome.
Since the EU bureaucracy has been so sophisticated and imbricated a system, a minority of politicians could rarely coax others to step up. While data still is fuzzy, the conflict between EU countries has never been this straightforward.
Besides, the West democracy will more or less undergo a transition after this period.
Only in time of the epidemic do people take the traveling bans for granted. That said, regarding figures, these bans are, one way or another, too stringent [4].
Flashback to how the governments stepped up. They have so far implemented traveling bans (either going or leaving), restricting recreational activities (events, gatherings, theaters, concerts, and stadiums), school closures (suspending any educational activity, and letting alternative methods take over from). Bizarre enough, they have rarely faced any objection — an unprecedented phenomenon since the second world war.
The half-hearted nature of democracy then came to light when citizens were willing to take up any application to intervene in their privacy, given their previously fierce opposition to private companies doing the same things. In the end, democracy still is conquered by living desires. Then, what’s the point of democratization?
Giorgio Agamben claims that “this crowd panic” has acted as a precursor to governments measuring to the efficiency of personal freedom restrictions [6]. Yuval Noah Harari also argues that this is an ideal period for them to perform more cunning surveillance without any dissent.
It’s out of the question to assess the proficiency of this in time of the pandemic. And in the future.
Had restrictions and monitoring been effortlessly done at this time, it would, in all likelihood, soon be iterated.
Since how far can it goes, given its handsome contribution to eliminating the pandemic.
Still, the world after the pandemic would hardly be a world it once was. The EU and WHO bureaucracy must be taken into serious considerations. Attitudes towards how Chinese are getting the epidemic under their control have metamorphosed. To all appearances, others are following how they step up the virus.
On the other hand, as individuals, we would hardly discern what we would become, as well as how far our feelings would get. The pandemic is rocking the world, not on the tip of an iceberg. BUT in the deepest layers.
REFERENCES:
[5]: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/us/coronavirus-location-tracking.html
[7]: https://www.ft.com/content/19d90308-6858-11ea-a3c9-1fe6fedcca75
