The main reason I am writing this specific post on the COVID 19 pandemic is as a reaction to 2 specific things;
- The alarming spikes in infection in France and Europe in general
- Having watched last night a program on France24 (English) about the crisis we face today in managing this pandemic
Let’s start by agreeing that the majority of us are NOT health experts and should not be expected make judgements in this capacity particularly that others would pay the price with their own lives. That out of the way lets also me make a few assertions to get us started – for me these are quite clear/unambiguous;
- As mentioned above this is a health crisis and needs experts to be in charge of making decisions on how we face up to it NOT politics, social norms/values; as a matter of fact these elements should help us adapt to these crisis NOT challenge them or the fact that they exist.
- When dealing with a National crisis – in this case an International crisis on a national level – the central government should be in full control in all aspects relating to managing these crisis nationally and how they coordinate these efforts on a more global scale. What we’re facing now is similar to war – so if we’re not expected to talk military strategy in situations like this or cry political/economic or social inconvenience as reason to make judgements on military strategy then same applies in this case. As such Regional Coordination should NOT be magically transformed to Regional Management of the crisis nor should politics or social norms infect our strategy in dealing with the crisis otherwise our efforts in dealing with this & future crisis will always be a constant uphill battle.
By the way the above points are in my opinion a matter of common sense and not rocket science.
With regards to people who argue democratic rights – shockingly including to to U.S government officials like Attorney General AG (more like Trump Assistant – TA) William Barr – let me suggest – and I can’t believe I need to make this point in an advanced/educated society – that with Democracy comes Responsibility/Accountability particularly in how our actions negatively affect others otherwise were creating is a garden of weeds not flowers. That’s all I need to say about this argument and if people still don’t get it then I suspect that’s a burden they’ll have to live with the rest of their lives though they won’t get that either.
In my opinion what we face today in terms of crisis (health or otherwise) is lack of leadership and here’s why; leadership is NOT only about making prudent decisions for the nation but equally important it’s about carrying the nation along in making the case why these decisions are important and taking responsibility about mistakes made along the way while making amends to avoid them in future; after all we’re all humans and I suspect people would respond positively with this approach so long as they know the man in charge can be trusted – (OK granted that’s a loooong sentence but I’m too excited). It seems to me that we’ve been spoiled with plenty of good times that we now find it quite difficult learning how to face crisis again and unite in times of crisis like the war times of the past; this really needs to change and we need to learn again hard earned lessons of the past/adapt internalize them because they become handy in inevitable times of crisis that we face in future. Life has to mean much more than being consumption freaks/moochers as many have become – we all need to take a deep breath/reflect and re-evaluate our priorities and be much clearer about how our values fit in this complex world we live in – myself included.
Finally, let me address one of the arguments mentioned in the program about children returning to school and how important this is particularly that they seem less likely contracting the virus; again I don’t understand why I need to make this point but let me make it just the same if for nothing but to make this post a complete response to some of the silly arguments I’ve watched on the program sample clip below – this not only about children but about the entire school staff/and other non-school personnel involved in the functioning of the school. As far as arguments go I would understand businesses and people in general seeking government assistance in facing up to the crisis or even debating measures – so long as we’re qualified to do so – but NOT through actions/approaches that confute or undermine these efforts.
In a nutshell how prolonged/complicated these crisis we face are is NOT entirely a health issue but it’s how we choose to approach it and with the help of an effective leadership but we are The key player to make the strategy work.
Hope this helps in some way.