The dark side of humans is a well known fact. The damage we have done to the environment, the damage we have done to so many species of plants and animals, and the damage we have done to us in turn is all known to us. In times of calamity like an earthquake, volcano eruptions, famine, floods, tsunami, storm, hailstones, heavy snowfall, and in times of man made calamity like the acid attacks, murders, rape, firings, shootings, bombings, nuclear bombs, we all, the human race, starts dreading for our lives and start repenting for the mistakes we have made. When we fall sick, be it the normal fever, or an infection or pneumonia, malaria, dengue, cancer, heart attack, we start living by each day as it comes, wait for us to heal and to get back to our "normal" lives. And there our many others among us living each day battling basic ability to see, hear, read, walk, talk, have difficulty in limbs, have difficulty in peeing or pooping or doing even in the lame day to day tasks which we take for granted. We the humans of 21st century are the most selfish, thankless, materialistic, hoarders, loathing creatures in the whole human history. We talk about technological innovation, the economy it's boost or the recession, third world war, movies but not about kindness, love, compassion, human values. "Man is the only species in the planet, who kills another man"!
At this time of isolation, at this time of quarantine, at this time of spending time at home, instead of focusing of all the good things in lives, of all the things we have been fortunate to have and are blessed to take for granted, what we focus on? Politics? Economy? Belittling someone, laughing over someone who is scared to death, or even boasting about how India is in a better state than Italy because of our "immune genes"! We are still this condescending, only grown physically adults but mentally still those bullies in school who enjoy the sadistic pleasure over someone else's misery.
At this time of isolation, at this time of quarantine, at this time of spending time at home, instead of focusing of all the good things in lives, of all the things we have been fortunate to have and are blessed to take for granted, what we focus on? Politics? Economy? Belittling someone, laughing over someone who is scared to death, or even boasting about how India is in a better state than Italy because of our "immune genes"! We are still this condescending, only grown physically adults but mentally still those bullies in school who enjoy the sadistic pleasure over someone else's misery.
Somehow the philosophy we 90's kids know from the famous song "Ek pal ka Jeena" that we have come alone on this earth empty handed and will leave one day empty handed without taking this materialistic world with us, is seemed to have forgotten! Each and every day with all the social media pictures, the statuses, the travel stories, the onsite opportunities, the new clothes, the new phone, the money we earn, we keep spending it. We do not save it for the rainy day because either we are too much into "Living in the moment" or we are too busy shopping for something we always seem to need without even thinking about whether we really need it, why do we need it and what impact it is going to have on the environment, our children, or all of us in terms of our health.
Be it the car, or the best car which uses maximum engine and travels minimum distance, emits maximum pollution, or the air travel we keep doing for our holidays which amount for a major carbon footprint or even in the plastic bottle we just buy because we are thirsty and are so hygienic that we refuse to drink the running water from a tap. Each person can think about everyone else, and be compassionate towards others by talking softly, trying not to hurt somebody else's feelings just because you are hurt, or angry. We do not know struggles of any one and we cannot judge a book by it's cover.
Now, that we are at home, we still can't do that without throwing a tantrum, without being impossible to handle, without being lazy, without being irritating, without abusing someone random on the internet, without trolling someone for their stupidity in the name of awareness, without the self loathing of how great and good we are and how stupid and idiot other people are.
We all are humans!! We make mistakes, we are stupid and we need to accept that about each other. We can only keep learning and keep getting better. As humans, we keep learning, keep experiencing and keep getting better every day. Some people consciously try to do it and some do not but we still learn. Punishing someone for their state of mind or for the way they reacted because they were not thinking is a way for them to correct themselves and not let it happen again but what's done is done. Instead of torturing another human, we can concentrate our energies into making this situation better. Talking about it helps, but emotionally targeting someone is not going to help anyone.
We are so used to people, quarantine is not something we do when the calamities occur. Our instinct is to be close to loved ones, help one another, be there for each other's support, hug / kiss our loved ones and tell them every thing will be alright. But this is exactly opposite of what our instincts tell us. We have to stay away. We have to be alone and stay where we are instead of moving countries or cities to be with family. But our instincts tell us to go home and what can you do about it? How can you stop someone wanting to see their mother and visit their motherland and a time where people are falling sick and there is no solution for the #COVID-19. We can only pray that we stay healthy and can overcome this