RULE BY FEAR

I have several theories about the origins of corona-virus.

The truth is, that at present nobody knows. I am also interested in the causes of thousands of deaths and the resulting responses. For those of us not uncomfortable with the word “God”, it could be a warning from above that we need to bring to a rapid halt to the pollution and destruction of our planet; to be more considerate to each other; to desist from animal cruelty, abuse and confinement; to reverse the continuing increase in intolerance, crime and drug abuse; and to strive for greater financial and racial equality for all.

Sadly, from the outbreak in late February, apart from a better awareness of the needs of the elderly, the poor and the vulnerable, there is little evidence that we have learned anything. We don’t know if a bat spread the virus to an animal market in Wuhan or whether the virus was planted by Chinese scientists or American agents. Is there a connection between the virus and 5G installations and is it engineered by the richest and most powerful one per cent in order to subjugate the rest of us? If so, is this to be achieved through the administration of a compulsory universal vaccine which could subdue the human race into submission?

If that were the case, as hundreds of millions of livelihoods have been disrupted or threatened by lockdown and the global economy is in freefall, only the one percentwith wealth and influence would survive. The rest of us would be controlled, not by arms, but by science and technology; confined, not as caged birds, but by lockdown; subjugated, not as the inhabitants of Gaza and North Korea, but by poverty. I am not discounting the real and tragic existence of hundreds of thousands of fatalities and serious illnesses. We have seen the horrific scenes in hospitals and witnessed the suffering of those infected. Almost all of us, however, are ruled by a fear of contamination which is probably grossly exaggerated or even unjustified.

I think the complacent behaviour of Presidents Trump, Bolsonaro and Putin, as well as Boris Johnson, is highly irresponsible. These “leaders” initially told us there was nothing much to worry about, which is clearly untrue, and then, in panic, took belated action based on dubious advice. Their countries are certainly paying a heavy price. While serious measures needed to be implemented, have they been appropriate? To what degree has total lockdown been the right solution? Its result is massive unemployment, loss of livelihood, increased poverty, hunger and disease, mental illness, postponement of medical treatment and universal fear. Although Europe is edging towards a kind of normality, I believe it will be two years before we live our lives as we did in 2019.