Lorenzo Rothgold
New Member
- May 26, 2020
- 1
- 0
The virus Covid-19 has created two camps; the ones who say stay home, stay safe. The other camp is Take care of yourself and take care of your business, the biggest debate being what is important to save human lives or the economy and everything else. I will go ahead and declare my interest as I support the Latter camp but I will present the views of both sides because it’s fair to bring the analogy then put them in context of reality to support the presupposition.
Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York has ordered the shutdown of all non-essential businesses in the state, as the number of confirmed corona virus cases surged above 7,000. Except for essential services, in the economic view point it’s like saying “you are not important part in the business so I’m killing you anyway” without considering the economic repercussions on the people who work on those particular jobs. All New Yorkers and many parts of the World are now ordered to stay indoors because the government is in the business of “saving lives” which I admit it is imperative. Cuomo called the new measures the “ultimate step” to curb the outbreak. “These provisions will be enforced. These are not helpful hints. This is not if you really want to be a great citizen. These are legal provisions,” he said at a briefing on Friday morning in Albany, the state’s capital. “We need everyone to be safe; otherwise, no one can be safe.” The governor also announced a 90-day moratorium on evictions for residential and commercial tenants as reported by the Guardian International Edition on 21 March 2020.
I referred to Governor Cuomo because he represents many leaders in the worlds who opted for the lock down and isolation of people in excuse of saving lives without confronting the context of reality to deal with the matter. It is easy for Leaders like Cuomo to have many supporters because at terrifying times people are more emotional than logical, so it is easy to sweep them away by either giving them too much information which brings more fear or you give them little information to constantly debate under the table.
You give them a Hashtag, stay home, stay Safe and a live death toll counter which in reality is creating fear than solving anything because in reality of life the data doesn't matter if people are not given the context of it, because obvious people die every day from different cases and if the context of the deaths is not offered then we don't care about who died because it becomes merely a routine. It’s a time where the Economy is being downplayed with statements like we can build the economy but we can’t save a life when it’s gone.
In reality a careful solution to problem will not solve a problem by creating another bigger problem and that is simple logic. Lock the world and save lives is a statement with an emotional appeal so it will resonate with many and that’s why people are likely to support this statement.
The world has been in the business of saving lives has flourished due to the fact that the economy has supported for various inventions and healthcare advancement, and this is evident as the disparity between developed countries and the third world, you cannot raise an argument that the third world has a lower and destabilized health system because they like it that way but it’s because of the economic limitations.
Thus the Lockdown is not a substantial solution for all the world as it places the Developing countries in the grip of losing more than saving anything, you save people now only to let them die later for the other cause you have created.
The ongoing downplay on the economy is more fatal than we think because if we place the human lives on the pedestal and let the state to ensure they keep locked down then we’re exonerating human ability and responsibility to deal and protect their own lives.
The crackdown of the economy is likely to destabilize human lives more than the virus considering the peculiarity of both developed and developing countries, the repercussion seems to be more detrimental for a longer period because the anticipation for the conclusive solution has a better chance only that it will take time.
The immediate and sufficient way to deal with Covid19 is to reorient our behaviors to align with the safety measures and continue conducting our lives in this new manner. The two divided groups of the sensitive and rational people, pardon me even the sensitive ones are employing some logical ideas only that their ideas are mainly emotional than putting to context on the bigger picture.
The primary job of a state is to protect the well-being and welfare of its citizens, but if you interpreted this by saying let’s save lives first you’re missing the bigger picture. The human life has evolved and for this reasons life and the economy are connected if not interrelated. You disrupt the economy you put human lives into jeopardy.
A person whose life is saved will soon need money to sustain and enhance his life. You can think like this when you view the world in the periscope of reality and not the political correctness and the triggered sensitive mass who have embarked on the lock down approach which have proved failure on a large extent.
We can try to be a safety first country but this is practical for a short time. The concept of risk is not well understood but Mike Rowe in his Piece “Safety Third” put insights on concept which I thought it will be important to share so that everyone wakes up from the stay safe, stay home mentality and start to focus on the reality that safety starts with you and you choose the extent of safety, thus if you think you’re going to be safe by staying inside you should think again.
Mike Rowe referred safety first to be a rational thought which we don’t always exercise due to our human behavior of Risk Homeostasis/Equilibrium whereby you subconsciously adjust your behavior to adapt your circumstances. To clarify his position in an Episode of Dirty Jobs of 23rd November,2009 “Safety First” discourages personal responsibility. Is it reasonable to assume that someone would hire you to work in a hazardous environment, and then tell you that nothing is more important to them than your personal safety? Of course not.
Difficult and dangerous jobs are accomplished by people who are willing to assume risk and the assumption of that Risk must come before anything else. The fact is, companies don’t go out of business when people get hurt. (Well, rarely.) They go out of business when they run out of money. Thus, their profit and your personal safety happen to be tied together. Their motivation is profit. Your motivation is a paycheck. And in that way people assume risks in a careful manner because the demise is on them.
“Safety First” is just not true. If Safety were really more important than catching crab, we’d have no crab. If Safety were really more important than construction, we’d have no buildings, we’d have no medical research nor personnel willing to volunteer treating the patients in the midst of the pandemic and no High Risk medical operation conducted.
If Safety were really and truly first, we’d all wear helmets and wrap ourselves in bubble pack and drive rubber cars at speeds of 10 miles per hour, assuming we ever left the house in the first place, which of course, we wouldn’t. There are many things that we value above a sense of safety – convenience, speed, efficiency, fast-food, sex, roller coasters, motorcycles, rushes of adrenaline, and of course, getting the job done. Certainly, all of these things can be pursued with varying levels of care, and I’m all for taking prudent precautions.
But telling me that my safety is more important than my willingness to assume the inherent risk just doesn’t follow. Without risk, there is no need for safety. And of course, there is always risk. Risk is everywhere. It can be understood and managed, but never eliminated. Risk is first. Getting the job done is second.
“Safety First” has become a platitude whereby it’s a rational thought and we believe it reflexively but in we don’t believe it honestly. So the government(s) to tell us to stay safe by locking ourselves inside is another platitude because even themselves know that the economy is going to depress many people than the virus but because they don’t have measure or vaccine to offer so they will use the “safety first” card to lure us into thinking it is the right approach and if you disagree then there is a time when people will be forced to come outside because their economy will be unbearable. The above explanation is much based on work and vocations, but we can’t draw a line and say that it does not apply in other aspects of our lives.
I think it applies in all the cases and the decisions we make every day. because there is not time when human life is detached from work or any activity which is done by Humans. We assume risk and safety using similar analogy as Mr. Rowe substantiated, the only way is that we are not sure about the extent of the risk because it’s not conclusive until it happens. The truth remains safety is to effective when it is put in the parameters of personal responsibility.
Since the Covid-19 Outbreak came the world is at the Kubler-Ross’ five stages of grief. We are grieving as individuals and as a universe its only that we defer in stages we don’t pass through all stages that is why some are denial, anger, bargain, depression or Acceptance. In parts of the some are in denial not believing about the staggering news thinking it’s a conspiracy and it’s okay to hold such views because of the disagreement among experts and the unreliable data projections.
But the others in anger, angry on the government and how they handle the Virus, angry because people others are not wearing masks, angry because the government cares about the economy than only concentrating on saving people, angry because people are dying and we cannot do anything, angry because we can’t go out and continue living our lives and angry because we believe a certain country started this pandemic.
This anger has been demonstrated through different actions since the pandemic started. Other people are in bargain and they’re in their what if moments, the what if we all stay inside maybe will be safe like they said, if we go outside we might amplify the spread, so let’s stay inside. If we keep on staying inside our businesses will die and we can’t sustain our financial needs, will we survive the lock down for another more month, I like to be healthy but I prefer freedom more and many bargains being done at this time.
Moreover, there are those in depression because they came to realize the reality of their lives as they lost their jobs, also the fact that the economic clash will be unbearable for their businesses or jobs to thrive, some have lost their loved ones and they’re depressed because they have lost so much at short time. For these people the situation is hard and they need our help.
The last group is of those who are in acceptance; they accept that the corona virus exists and yes it has done a lot of damage. Those in acceptance think it’s time for adjustment and readjustment, they know that we can’t stay in denial that saving lives is more important than the economy, that we can’t remain angry because anger solves nothing, we can’t keep on bargaining forever, depression need to be cured by a temporary but substantial way to continue with life and avoid this endless lock down with the excuse for saving lives because by continuing to do so we are creating two disasters in one.
Now let’s be frank here, Maybe the government and politicians have been in bargain for so long and people have been so angry but folks lets accept it, the government has failed to get the solution for the Corona Virus but it has gained the power to control and castigate the mass by just dismissing any other measure prescribed and ending putting people in house arrests and the executive orders for curfews being executed in most parts of the world.
We have to choose our fate and the government cannot decide on the fundamentals of our lives, if it picks the saving lives part alone then it’s pushing more people to rebel by choosing the economy. Imagine people in Africa cannot survive a week under lock down thus people are likely to die of hunger than by Covid19 and you can’t dismiss this issue by just saying people should go inside otherwise it will be like painting a better picture on the international community but betraying your own citizens.
They say the truth lies in the back of the ticket, why is the idea of stay home and stay safe being echoed more than the fact that due to medical discoveries older people and people of any age with underlying medical conditions are at higher risk for severe illness from Covid-19, this includes people with diabetes, asthma, chronic kidney disease, hemoglobin Disorder, liver disease, severe obesity, chronic lung disease, serious heart conditions and immuno-compromised (cancer, HIV etc.). these are the people we should put more efforts instead of closing the whole world. If you tell people this truth those who are not vulnerable to the said conditions will be at a good position to protect them and they, themselves will be at a great enlightenment about the risk they face.
The lock down has failed to bring the desired results because we have targeted it for everyone thus the possibility that there are more infections spread to these people at family level due to the fact that there are so many people who are infected but they don’t show any signs. The solution is to exercise highest care to high risk group and let the rest of the groups to come out and play a part in building the economy which is essential for future sustainability.
In this time of anxiety and grief any state or country which is willing to exercise a slight different approach will seem crazy. President of Tanzania. Dr. John Magufuli is among few leaders in the world at least I am aware of in Africa who has refused to close the country in partial or total lock down something which has invited endless criticism throughout the world even from his domestic political counterparts from the opposition.
What is done in Tanzania is that several health orders have been established like the closure of all schools and universities to avoid further spread, enforcement of the WHO Corona Virus safety rules like hand washing , to sanitize, wearing of masks and encouragement of Social distancing. The government also has embarked the constant mass education about Covid-19 through different forums including the daily corona virus alerts through cellphones.
The approach has been inclusive as it aims at relieving the mass from panic than instilling fear by ordering a mandatory lock down which could have proven to be more staggering than effective. The similar approach has been taken by Sweden where citizens have not been put in curfews. They say the first ones to go will seem reckless and crazy but others will follow. Slowly the world has come to realize that life has to go on and simply they are starting to open up like Tanzania which was deemed crazy and reckless at first.
If we had something to learn this time is that, by quoting Dr. John Magufuli’s in one of his speeches that “fear is fatal than the Virus Itself” this is evident because due to fear most leaders have given in to the lock down strategy easily hence, creating other associated problems to the pandemic like hunger and economic slump.
Another is that Covid-19 has exposed how many leaders are incompetent to lead us and get us through this pandemic because fearful leaders will damage the economy more by holding their view on the safety first policy “lock-down” which has proved to be a political oriented to pretend they care much about the people.
Leaders who think shifting the goalpost of personal safety to the state rather than making it a personal responsibility are dangerous because they ignore reality and are creating a possibility of states to use the problem–reaction–solution (PRS) which Involves dominant individuals, groups, states and/or organizations secretly plot or exploit a problem to legitimize the enactment of laws, rules, and restrictions.
Then, via an unquestioning media, the issue is broadcast, amplified, and popularized. Bringing the problem to the forefront of public attention arouses a strong social demand for action (reaction), which advances acceptance of a “predetermined” solution to justify some outrageous decisions. We’re in a period of time where because of this pandemic most of the people are likely to do everything the state or the WHO says, a good example is the prescribed measure of Lock-down being used and prescribed worldwide just because it seemed to work in China and now it has many supporters because of the notion that seeing is believing, but what about Tanzania or Kenya as a case study!? This measure is not effective worldwide thus context should be taken into consideration.
Saying this according to virology reports Covid-19 is a man-made virus that is undisputed. In a world of human rights and all types of measures to preserve species and human race why create a virus like that, another thing is why is the media creating fear than hope, why is there a live death toll on Covid-19 and not of Malaria, Cancer or HIV because whether people die from Covid-19 or any other disease they still die; you don’t solve a problem by downplaying other factors , why is there a race for vaccine discovery now, next thing you hear will be a mandatory vaccination because someone must make the money but who makes them!? I will leave it to be a rhetorical question.
The truth remains that we cannot diminish risks to zero and there is no way the government can or states which think that they can hold people under lockdown any longer with the view of saving them to the virus which may seem to stay longer than we think because by doing that they are creating bigger problems than they think. “We can live with corona Virus as we lived with HIV and measles which are viruses the world has failed to eradicate” was a statement made by President Magufuli of Tanzania in one of his speeches when he addressed the nation, the statement proved to be very consoling to the citizens as it eased tension but urged people to take precautions than to drown themselves in fear. The statement was later on appraised by the WHO as they issued similar explanations considering the pending research on the vaccine.
Lastly I would like to appeal to the world to think for yourselves for how long are you going to stay inside in fear of a virus which is likely to stay for a longtime. Covid-19 can contact anyone but it is not fatal to everyone, thus, if you’re among the high risk ones its time now to adjust your life and maybe governments should develop policies for these people health wise and maybe the stay home, stay safe should be enforced for these people mostly and this should also be reflected even in the new labour laws or work regulations.
The world cannot thrive by staying home to be safe because the chief aim of life is not merely to stay alive. The governments have identified some things as none essential works and closed them, this is also something to re-evaluate. Free the world, open the world; people are ready to assume the risk and live the new normal. The economy is a sleeping giant; we should be careful when dealing with it because it will wipe more people than this plandemic (Pandemic).
Written by Lorenzo Rothgold
E-mail: gasperlv@outlook.com
Twitter: @LorenzoRothGold
Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York has ordered the shutdown of all non-essential businesses in the state, as the number of confirmed corona virus cases surged above 7,000. Except for essential services, in the economic view point it’s like saying “you are not important part in the business so I’m killing you anyway” without considering the economic repercussions on the people who work on those particular jobs. All New Yorkers and many parts of the World are now ordered to stay indoors because the government is in the business of “saving lives” which I admit it is imperative. Cuomo called the new measures the “ultimate step” to curb the outbreak. “These provisions will be enforced. These are not helpful hints. This is not if you really want to be a great citizen. These are legal provisions,” he said at a briefing on Friday morning in Albany, the state’s capital. “We need everyone to be safe; otherwise, no one can be safe.” The governor also announced a 90-day moratorium on evictions for residential and commercial tenants as reported by the Guardian International Edition on 21 March 2020.
I referred to Governor Cuomo because he represents many leaders in the worlds who opted for the lock down and isolation of people in excuse of saving lives without confronting the context of reality to deal with the matter. It is easy for Leaders like Cuomo to have many supporters because at terrifying times people are more emotional than logical, so it is easy to sweep them away by either giving them too much information which brings more fear or you give them little information to constantly debate under the table.
You give them a Hashtag, stay home, stay Safe and a live death toll counter which in reality is creating fear than solving anything because in reality of life the data doesn't matter if people are not given the context of it, because obvious people die every day from different cases and if the context of the deaths is not offered then we don't care about who died because it becomes merely a routine. It’s a time where the Economy is being downplayed with statements like we can build the economy but we can’t save a life when it’s gone.
In reality a careful solution to problem will not solve a problem by creating another bigger problem and that is simple logic. Lock the world and save lives is a statement with an emotional appeal so it will resonate with many and that’s why people are likely to support this statement.
The world has been in the business of saving lives has flourished due to the fact that the economy has supported for various inventions and healthcare advancement, and this is evident as the disparity between developed countries and the third world, you cannot raise an argument that the third world has a lower and destabilized health system because they like it that way but it’s because of the economic limitations.
Thus the Lockdown is not a substantial solution for all the world as it places the Developing countries in the grip of losing more than saving anything, you save people now only to let them die later for the other cause you have created.
The ongoing downplay on the economy is more fatal than we think because if we place the human lives on the pedestal and let the state to ensure they keep locked down then we’re exonerating human ability and responsibility to deal and protect their own lives.
The crackdown of the economy is likely to destabilize human lives more than the virus considering the peculiarity of both developed and developing countries, the repercussion seems to be more detrimental for a longer period because the anticipation for the conclusive solution has a better chance only that it will take time.
The immediate and sufficient way to deal with Covid19 is to reorient our behaviors to align with the safety measures and continue conducting our lives in this new manner. The two divided groups of the sensitive and rational people, pardon me even the sensitive ones are employing some logical ideas only that their ideas are mainly emotional than putting to context on the bigger picture.
The primary job of a state is to protect the well-being and welfare of its citizens, but if you interpreted this by saying let’s save lives first you’re missing the bigger picture. The human life has evolved and for this reasons life and the economy are connected if not interrelated. You disrupt the economy you put human lives into jeopardy.
A person whose life is saved will soon need money to sustain and enhance his life. You can think like this when you view the world in the periscope of reality and not the political correctness and the triggered sensitive mass who have embarked on the lock down approach which have proved failure on a large extent.
We can try to be a safety first country but this is practical for a short time. The concept of risk is not well understood but Mike Rowe in his Piece “Safety Third” put insights on concept which I thought it will be important to share so that everyone wakes up from the stay safe, stay home mentality and start to focus on the reality that safety starts with you and you choose the extent of safety, thus if you think you’re going to be safe by staying inside you should think again.
Mike Rowe referred safety first to be a rational thought which we don’t always exercise due to our human behavior of Risk Homeostasis/Equilibrium whereby you subconsciously adjust your behavior to adapt your circumstances. To clarify his position in an Episode of Dirty Jobs of 23rd November,2009 “Safety First” discourages personal responsibility. Is it reasonable to assume that someone would hire you to work in a hazardous environment, and then tell you that nothing is more important to them than your personal safety? Of course not.
Difficult and dangerous jobs are accomplished by people who are willing to assume risk and the assumption of that Risk must come before anything else. The fact is, companies don’t go out of business when people get hurt. (Well, rarely.) They go out of business when they run out of money. Thus, their profit and your personal safety happen to be tied together. Their motivation is profit. Your motivation is a paycheck. And in that way people assume risks in a careful manner because the demise is on them.
“Safety First” is just not true. If Safety were really more important than catching crab, we’d have no crab. If Safety were really more important than construction, we’d have no buildings, we’d have no medical research nor personnel willing to volunteer treating the patients in the midst of the pandemic and no High Risk medical operation conducted.
If Safety were really and truly first, we’d all wear helmets and wrap ourselves in bubble pack and drive rubber cars at speeds of 10 miles per hour, assuming we ever left the house in the first place, which of course, we wouldn’t. There are many things that we value above a sense of safety – convenience, speed, efficiency, fast-food, sex, roller coasters, motorcycles, rushes of adrenaline, and of course, getting the job done. Certainly, all of these things can be pursued with varying levels of care, and I’m all for taking prudent precautions.
But telling me that my safety is more important than my willingness to assume the inherent risk just doesn’t follow. Without risk, there is no need for safety. And of course, there is always risk. Risk is everywhere. It can be understood and managed, but never eliminated. Risk is first. Getting the job done is second.
“Safety First” has become a platitude whereby it’s a rational thought and we believe it reflexively but in we don’t believe it honestly. So the government(s) to tell us to stay safe by locking ourselves inside is another platitude because even themselves know that the economy is going to depress many people than the virus but because they don’t have measure or vaccine to offer so they will use the “safety first” card to lure us into thinking it is the right approach and if you disagree then there is a time when people will be forced to come outside because their economy will be unbearable. The above explanation is much based on work and vocations, but we can’t draw a line and say that it does not apply in other aspects of our lives.
I think it applies in all the cases and the decisions we make every day. because there is not time when human life is detached from work or any activity which is done by Humans. We assume risk and safety using similar analogy as Mr. Rowe substantiated, the only way is that we are not sure about the extent of the risk because it’s not conclusive until it happens. The truth remains safety is to effective when it is put in the parameters of personal responsibility.
Since the Covid-19 Outbreak came the world is at the Kubler-Ross’ five stages of grief. We are grieving as individuals and as a universe its only that we defer in stages we don’t pass through all stages that is why some are denial, anger, bargain, depression or Acceptance. In parts of the some are in denial not believing about the staggering news thinking it’s a conspiracy and it’s okay to hold such views because of the disagreement among experts and the unreliable data projections.
But the others in anger, angry on the government and how they handle the Virus, angry because people others are not wearing masks, angry because the government cares about the economy than only concentrating on saving people, angry because people are dying and we cannot do anything, angry because we can’t go out and continue living our lives and angry because we believe a certain country started this pandemic.
This anger has been demonstrated through different actions since the pandemic started. Other people are in bargain and they’re in their what if moments, the what if we all stay inside maybe will be safe like they said, if we go outside we might amplify the spread, so let’s stay inside. If we keep on staying inside our businesses will die and we can’t sustain our financial needs, will we survive the lock down for another more month, I like to be healthy but I prefer freedom more and many bargains being done at this time.
Moreover, there are those in depression because they came to realize the reality of their lives as they lost their jobs, also the fact that the economic clash will be unbearable for their businesses or jobs to thrive, some have lost their loved ones and they’re depressed because they have lost so much at short time. For these people the situation is hard and they need our help.
The last group is of those who are in acceptance; they accept that the corona virus exists and yes it has done a lot of damage. Those in acceptance think it’s time for adjustment and readjustment, they know that we can’t stay in denial that saving lives is more important than the economy, that we can’t remain angry because anger solves nothing, we can’t keep on bargaining forever, depression need to be cured by a temporary but substantial way to continue with life and avoid this endless lock down with the excuse for saving lives because by continuing to do so we are creating two disasters in one.
Now let’s be frank here, Maybe the government and politicians have been in bargain for so long and people have been so angry but folks lets accept it, the government has failed to get the solution for the Corona Virus but it has gained the power to control and castigate the mass by just dismissing any other measure prescribed and ending putting people in house arrests and the executive orders for curfews being executed in most parts of the world.
We have to choose our fate and the government cannot decide on the fundamentals of our lives, if it picks the saving lives part alone then it’s pushing more people to rebel by choosing the economy. Imagine people in Africa cannot survive a week under lock down thus people are likely to die of hunger than by Covid19 and you can’t dismiss this issue by just saying people should go inside otherwise it will be like painting a better picture on the international community but betraying your own citizens.
They say the truth lies in the back of the ticket, why is the idea of stay home and stay safe being echoed more than the fact that due to medical discoveries older people and people of any age with underlying medical conditions are at higher risk for severe illness from Covid-19, this includes people with diabetes, asthma, chronic kidney disease, hemoglobin Disorder, liver disease, severe obesity, chronic lung disease, serious heart conditions and immuno-compromised (cancer, HIV etc.). these are the people we should put more efforts instead of closing the whole world. If you tell people this truth those who are not vulnerable to the said conditions will be at a good position to protect them and they, themselves will be at a great enlightenment about the risk they face.
The lock down has failed to bring the desired results because we have targeted it for everyone thus the possibility that there are more infections spread to these people at family level due to the fact that there are so many people who are infected but they don’t show any signs. The solution is to exercise highest care to high risk group and let the rest of the groups to come out and play a part in building the economy which is essential for future sustainability.
In this time of anxiety and grief any state or country which is willing to exercise a slight different approach will seem crazy. President of Tanzania. Dr. John Magufuli is among few leaders in the world at least I am aware of in Africa who has refused to close the country in partial or total lock down something which has invited endless criticism throughout the world even from his domestic political counterparts from the opposition.
What is done in Tanzania is that several health orders have been established like the closure of all schools and universities to avoid further spread, enforcement of the WHO Corona Virus safety rules like hand washing , to sanitize, wearing of masks and encouragement of Social distancing. The government also has embarked the constant mass education about Covid-19 through different forums including the daily corona virus alerts through cellphones.
The approach has been inclusive as it aims at relieving the mass from panic than instilling fear by ordering a mandatory lock down which could have proven to be more staggering than effective. The similar approach has been taken by Sweden where citizens have not been put in curfews. They say the first ones to go will seem reckless and crazy but others will follow. Slowly the world has come to realize that life has to go on and simply they are starting to open up like Tanzania which was deemed crazy and reckless at first.
If we had something to learn this time is that, by quoting Dr. John Magufuli’s in one of his speeches that “fear is fatal than the Virus Itself” this is evident because due to fear most leaders have given in to the lock down strategy easily hence, creating other associated problems to the pandemic like hunger and economic slump.
Another is that Covid-19 has exposed how many leaders are incompetent to lead us and get us through this pandemic because fearful leaders will damage the economy more by holding their view on the safety first policy “lock-down” which has proved to be a political oriented to pretend they care much about the people.
Leaders who think shifting the goalpost of personal safety to the state rather than making it a personal responsibility are dangerous because they ignore reality and are creating a possibility of states to use the problem–reaction–solution (PRS) which Involves dominant individuals, groups, states and/or organizations secretly plot or exploit a problem to legitimize the enactment of laws, rules, and restrictions.
Then, via an unquestioning media, the issue is broadcast, amplified, and popularized. Bringing the problem to the forefront of public attention arouses a strong social demand for action (reaction), which advances acceptance of a “predetermined” solution to justify some outrageous decisions. We’re in a period of time where because of this pandemic most of the people are likely to do everything the state or the WHO says, a good example is the prescribed measure of Lock-down being used and prescribed worldwide just because it seemed to work in China and now it has many supporters because of the notion that seeing is believing, but what about Tanzania or Kenya as a case study!? This measure is not effective worldwide thus context should be taken into consideration.
Saying this according to virology reports Covid-19 is a man-made virus that is undisputed. In a world of human rights and all types of measures to preserve species and human race why create a virus like that, another thing is why is the media creating fear than hope, why is there a live death toll on Covid-19 and not of Malaria, Cancer or HIV because whether people die from Covid-19 or any other disease they still die; you don’t solve a problem by downplaying other factors , why is there a race for vaccine discovery now, next thing you hear will be a mandatory vaccination because someone must make the money but who makes them!? I will leave it to be a rhetorical question.
The truth remains that we cannot diminish risks to zero and there is no way the government can or states which think that they can hold people under lockdown any longer with the view of saving them to the virus which may seem to stay longer than we think because by doing that they are creating bigger problems than they think. “We can live with corona Virus as we lived with HIV and measles which are viruses the world has failed to eradicate” was a statement made by President Magufuli of Tanzania in one of his speeches when he addressed the nation, the statement proved to be very consoling to the citizens as it eased tension but urged people to take precautions than to drown themselves in fear. The statement was later on appraised by the WHO as they issued similar explanations considering the pending research on the vaccine.
Lastly I would like to appeal to the world to think for yourselves for how long are you going to stay inside in fear of a virus which is likely to stay for a longtime. Covid-19 can contact anyone but it is not fatal to everyone, thus, if you’re among the high risk ones its time now to adjust your life and maybe governments should develop policies for these people health wise and maybe the stay home, stay safe should be enforced for these people mostly and this should also be reflected even in the new labour laws or work regulations.
The world cannot thrive by staying home to be safe because the chief aim of life is not merely to stay alive. The governments have identified some things as none essential works and closed them, this is also something to re-evaluate. Free the world, open the world; people are ready to assume the risk and live the new normal. The economy is a sleeping giant; we should be careful when dealing with it because it will wipe more people than this plandemic (Pandemic).
Written by Lorenzo Rothgold
E-mail: gasperlv@outlook.com
Twitter: @LorenzoRothGold