Covid-19: Unmindful human reaction

Most of the 'end-of-the-world' fiction movies project giant monsters wiping out human race. Some show oceans rising, asteroids smashing into the planet, an alien attack on human species or a massive nuclear war… which ends it all. However, there are not many science fiction movies so far, on how a contagious microbe will challenge the entire humanity, especially in the most technologically advanced period of human existence, the 21st century.

It happened, and here we are today facing the seemingly biggest challenge to human race ever – the COVID19. Since March 2020, the entire world has witnessed a 'freeze on human activity' like never in the recorded history. So far, there are close to 141 million corona virus infections and over 3.1 million deaths world-wide.

The rise of this contagious microbe from China and it's spread to the entire world in a span of 4 to 5 months, with around 3.4 per cent of possible death rate is certainly alarming.

However, the degree of global panic and quantum withdrawal from normal life and livelihood of human beings, looks certainly disproportionate.

In the recorded history of Anthropology there was never a period, that human habitat and ecosystem was bereft of disease and death. Human species always co-existed with many forms of disease and continue to do so, even in the contemporary time of its existence.

There was simply no ideal habitat on this planet free of disease and death, in the entire time-line of evolution of life, from a single cell species to the current complex human form. Panicking the way, the entire global human community is, in response to Covid-19 certainly raises more red flags than just few. There needs to be a thorough study on sweeping reactions by all nations across the world, in facing up to the challenge posed by this viral microbe, in comparison with what human race has fought in the past.

I have a big question … Is Covid-19 a single biggest challenge to humanity? I don't think so. The human community has been living with more regular, self-inflicted and mundane causes of disease and death.

Humans have been co-existing for hundreds of years with many diseases which are triggered through less thorough-upkeep of self and the habitat they live in. The mammoth number of deaths due to social maladies and disease in the world we live in, outsizes and out-numbers the infection and death rate of Covid-19.

Let's look at worldwide deaths annually with social maladies and community disease, just for a new perspective:

1.35 million people die in road accidents

2.6 million children die of hunger

17.9 million deaths with heart disease

3.17 million deaths with COPD [Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease]

9.6 million deaths with Cancer

1.54 million deaths with Alzheimer's

1.59 million deaths with Diabetes

1.4 million deaths with Tuberculosis

1.39 million deaths with Diarrhoea

That is a staggering 40.54 million deaths every year in the organised human society across the world.

The above stated deaths are a regular phenomenon across the world annually for many decades, and the numbers are only rising year on year. However, none of these deaths have shocked us to a level, where the entire human enterprise had to be paused and even stalled multiple times.

The shocking fact of this over-reactionary global lock-downs is, that everyone knows it's not a real solution. A transmittable contagion can't be contained by just by locking oneself at home, it must be attacked either with treatment after infection or a vaccination of impeccable efficacy. One need to also understand that no other animal on this planet, other than human beings have this luxury of these two survival options.

Our ancestors from distant past have faced deadly contagions too. It is not for the first time a contagion has infected humans. In the pre-recorded anthropological history, there were many kinds of plagues which hit all over the planet and infected all animals including humans. However, human race survived the onslaught for thousands of years, and so did many other animals on this planet.

The easier acceptance of death as a natural outcome or inadvertently developing immunity to these kind of diseases over a period, was the only ingenious method in those times.

However, even with more empowered options which exist today, it is shocking that human race is trying to hide, than fight. There's clearly something wrong with the way, we are currently fighting the challenges in comparison to our ancestors. It is important for all of us to remember, we did not survive and evolve all these centuries by hiding in caves, we did by fighting it out.

In very distant history in Circa 3000 BC there was a pre-historic epidemic. There were Plague of Athens of 430 BC, Antonine Plague of 165 AD, the Black-Death of 1346, American Plague of 16th century and 20 other deadly contagions which infected humans. In the recent century Spanish Flu of 1918, Asian Flu, Swine Flu, AIDS and others have infected hundreds of thousands and led to massive number of deaths.

Traditional knowledge is linked to understanding nature's cycles of balancing life on this planet. Critical understanding of cause and effect of human behaviours, simple understanding and acceptance of life and death cycles, have allowed the human species in the past, to keep moving ahead with their enterprise by taking natural chances and building natural immunity as a result.

Some weak elements in the current human communities have too shallow knowledge of the spirit for human survival. They are not just trying to foolishly hide from a highly infectious contagion, which will eventually infect everyone including them, but also forcing, violating and manipulating millions of others to join their tribe of unwise, fake and sadistic crusaders.

Life is all pervasive, and so is death. I am not advocating foolish adventurism to those who have health-issues and co-morbidities. However, the rest can't afford to sit idle at home losing their livelihoods and natural immunity to fight and survive not just Covid-19 but many other social and community maladies.

The dumb zealots who know very little of the mega human pursuit for thriving and surviving against adversity, are enjoying their temporary and sadistic control over small colonies of people, apartment blocks, housing societies, containment zones, cities and even states, illiterately imagining they are able to control this crawling contagion. These folks are doing more damage to the individual freedoms attained by centuries of human endeavor in structured societies.

I believe, it's all about the level of 'acceptance of death' and the prism from which 'life' was seen by our ancestors, which made it easier to fight adversity of any shape and form.

It's unthinkable that in 21st century, the entire human race has surrendered to a contagious microbe in the fear of disease and death. This phase, will certainly be recorded in the history of human evolution, that human species which has risen to the top of the food chain on this planet, has submitted and surrendered its fighting spirit and regressed into a cave mode, in unfounded fear of a miniscule percentage of death.

Disease treatment, herd-immunity and vaccination are the only the contemporary methods to fight Covid-19 or any such contagion in the future. However, the indomitable spirit of rebellion, the courage to challenge adversity head-on are the natural methods to attain natural-immunity and survive.

The human race which has evolved from caves millions of years ago, can't be sent back to caves in the fear of a single communicable disease.

Contemporary societies, which are already facing social inequalities, unemployment, skilllessness, economic depravity can't be further pained and burdened, with reactionary and thoughtless homogenous actions, as a response to fighting a viral microbe.

If this irrational global / regional lock-downs continue, human community will soon arrive into a critical phase, where death will be lot easier than the pain and depravity of fundamental physical and emotional needs.

Governments across the world should prepare and provide for better health infrastructure for all their citizens. They should inspire the human enterprise and drive more nature-connected knowledge and resilience amongst their citizens, to fight the odds to survive and thrive. Governments should stop and think, to act with historic human insight, and not withdraw and surrender to a viral microbe.

There is no greatness of global leadership, if it were to destroy lives and livelihoods of billions through collective, overzealous, irrational and imitable policy frenzy. One size, doesn't fit all.

India which is 'Hindustan', an ancient civilisation with over 5000 years of a superior knowledge, should certainly not fall into this trap of shallow, contemporary western-life pattern. We should understand and remember, if we put up a worthy fight like our ancestors…'This too shall pass.'

(The author is the chief spokesperson of the BJP Telangana State, an organisational strategist & a leadership coach)