Covid-19 and our insensitive mentality

In crises like this, when people should be worried about the future, care-free individuals enjoy living in the moment

These unprecedented times comprising months of lockdown have given the world the required energy and space to introspect — and redress.

Today, all of us want something.

The haut monde of today is worried about its health and safety and is not hesitating in adopting all safety practices prescribed by authorities. They want the crisis to end soon so that their economic prosperity can take the ascending path once again, only if their fate leads them out of the plight alive.

The middle class has its own challenges. The collapse of education, health and other sectors keeps them awake at night as most members of this estate belong to the working class. Doctors and paramedics are surely worried about their health and of their families, but this profession is passion for some and means of breadwinning for others. Parents are apprehensive about their children’s education as that is the only true endowment their future generations will inherit to make their own living. The unemployed are afraid of facing a long-lasting recession as closure of major businesses has snatched jobs from those already employed. All have some savings which they are currently spending to keep their bodies and souls together, but the exhaustion of these funds is what does not let them rest.

The lower orders are dying; if not by means of the coronavirus then by hunger. With decreased demand of commodities and services, the members of this class await opportunities that could feed their stomachs. This search for wage puts them at an extremely vulnerable position as they would not care about self-protection and safety if offered a meal in exchange. And those who are unsuccessful in earning a sum are again in peril, not by the virus but by tearful eyes of their children and empty vessels in their kitchens. They tend to ease their anguish by embracing death before death seizes them.

The aforementioned are some harsh realities of the ongoing pandemic, but some people have other stories to tell and other things to yearn for. Freedom is what they desire. Freedom as a cure of depression is a necessary treatment, but those who wish it as a source of enjoyment in these times is what reminds me of JK Rowling’s quote, “It is our choices, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

Such people want to shop the latest lawn designer dresses because “Eid won’t be Eid without new clothes”. They want to expose their children to the potential risk by taking them to fully packed markets because they “cannot see corona” but are reluctant in sending them to schools because that is where the danger lies. They cannot give up their social life and distant relatives for a few months because “these are not our values”. They will neither wear masks nor practise social distancing because “corona is nothing but a propaganda to fund doctors and foreign agents”. This mindset formulates another faction — the ‘heedless’ class.

Its members may belong to any of the three estates but are united in their approach to life and self-centredness. Leaving the jobs originally assigned to them to be finished by God is their aim and taking up the whole armour of God is their hobby.

In crises like this, when people should be worried about the future, these care-free individuals enjoy living in the moment when the world does not need it. A situation wherein it is actually required for us to act responsibly, these individuals want their freedom. When businesses are suffering losses, doctors are losing their lives, labourers are committing suicide because they are unable to feed their families, these individuals are busy enjoying by wandering in markets and socialising.

Just when it was actually the time to fill the gap of discrimination by burying all differences and rising from the ashes, these individuals are worsening the situation. Yes, they are the real the agents. After all, all viruses need vectors. 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2020.

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