#philosopical

Well the world’s infrastructure is crumbling around us as we wait and watch from homes in self-isolation. This is the state of the world in the midst of the coronavirus. Depending on where you are in the world, it may not be the midst of it. Yet.

There are those in places such as China, which went through a peak in February and are coming out of the worst slowly, despite numbers of imported cases still remaining there is a sense that there is a lessening of domestic transmission creating a sense of fragile hope that there is a possibility for recovery. Then you look at places such as Italy which is currently the “scary” place. The one whose daily death numbers are quoted in conversation as a reminder by and to those who are scared but fortunate enough to not yet be there. These are places that are currently taking and have taken maximum (a relative term) precautions of quarantine and lockdown and where the full enormity of the crisis have been understood only due to the extent of spread and have been forced into these measures.

Then we have those who are yet to be affected on this scale, that are seeing initial numbers of cases growing and we observe their reactions to this. There are those across Europe closing borders, the Netherlands, Germany and the USA in Northern America to prevent cases being imported. In airports testing is undertaken and in some countries all incoming passengers are put into quarantine. There are extreme measures put into place to avoid spread and contagion on the levels that has been seen elsewhere. Places that have managed to contain it thus far but balance on this precipice of fragile stability until cases can no longer be contained. The “yet” is what is terrifying for these countries, witnessing the effect on other economies and being aware of what will come.

There are two wide categories of reaction to the virus which can be seen: those who want to continue as much as possible as normal (whether they are at-risk or not) and those who are changing their lifestyle around the virus (whether by choice or not). There is much criticism from those in the latter to those in the former, but the reality is that for all of us there will come a point where we all are part of the latter. The main reproach towards those continuing with their daily lives is the disregard that they have for those at risk and the impact that they have by potentially spreading the virus further, selfishly so. I disagree with this label. It implies malicious thought, but it is not malice that drives this. It is fear. All of us are aware of what is coming, whether it has happened, is happening or is yet to happen. We all know life has to change, the only difference is that some of us want to hold onto that sense of normality for a little longer. For the younger generations in particular, this may be the first time that the news around us directly affects us. The financial crisis was something that happened, but to me (not applicable to everyone) it was something I heard on the radio, that went on in the background whilst life went on. 2020 has been a year of horrifying news stories, the Australian bushfires, the rising political tensions between China and the US, but again whilst terrifying to hear about, they were other, things that were background noise to our ordinary lives. This is something else, something we cannot avoid or ignore. Those deemed selfish are aware of how life will change for them. They are just attempting to hold onto normality up until they have to accept reality.

Everywhere we have seen the money pouring in to support the crumbling economy to avoid a total collapse, with figures already quoting numbers worse than the 2008 financial crisis. The thing is, in this case it is not man-made, the panic of the financial crisis was (not purely) financial, the effects were on people’s livelihoods whereas now it is on people’s lives.

The current situation can be likened to any number of horror movies where the world erupts into panic but the reality is so much more gradual in the little changes in people’s actions. We see it in our shops where people’s stockpiling in preparation for shortage has only made it a more imminent reality and breeds further panic. We see it in the masks that have become commonplace and the hand sanitisers that are now out up everywhere to give a sense of control, that if we just wash our hands it will all be fine and it’ll just go away soon enough. The real fear comes from the reality that no one knows when this will truly be over. We hold arbitrary figures in our minds, fourteen days in self-isolation, six months until university opens again, hoping that normality will return soon enough for us all to return to everyday routine at some specific date. Aristotle’s words seem especially appropriate at this point in time as all we know is that we know nothing. From world leaders to the scientist working on a vaccine, no one truly knows anything about what will happen to the world.

The truth of the world is that it runs on people. People and their expectations and reactions and actions are what drives everything. The financial system, at its core, simply works on predicting expectations, of how people will react to key events and preparing for this. So how do we prepare for mass panic? The collapse of Northern Rock is often quoted as the beginning of the financial crisis in the UK which was due to a bank run, the cause of which is panic. Nowadays preventative measures are taken so that the financial system does not reach that point again but the reality is that fragility remains. The economy runs on people and how they behave.

But now it is not the economy that is failing (not that that isn’t also happening) it is the people. The pandemic brings fear for our lives and our loved ones that we cannot ignore. Every realisation of another person close to me in danger makes the situation more and more grave but also brings me to the realisation that we are all helpless. Our literal only option as people to stop the spread of the virus is self-isolation and social distancing. At the time where you want and need people around you is when we must stay apart for the sake of those same people. Isolation becomes separation as friends head home across closing borders with promises to keep in touch but with the knowledge that for some we don’t know when we will see each other again. There is no certainty when every day there a new announcement and last-minute flights are booked at extortionate prices to avoid being stuck for God knows how long away from home. A farewell is a privilege at this point. There are so many goodbyes that will have to do for however long it may be as we head into isolation. Can we really blame those “selfish” people for trying to stay normal for as long as possible in a world that is becoming more and more abnormal by the moment. That is not to say that they are justified in acting as they do but the condemnation towards them should not be so harsh without some understanding of why they are doing so.

Heading home myself for a presumable six months, there was a sense of normality I expected. Not even that, just an awareness of what it would hold for me, regardless of how the virus spreads I knew I could expect a solid period of inactivity on my behalf. In complete honesty, isolation at home for me holds very little difference to how I would spend my time regardless of the virus. What I did not think about, though I was aware of it, was the impact of the virus on my parents. As healthcare workers there is a certain tension there and likely in the whole system that further drives the fragility of the world, and the UK in particular, home. We as people consider the strain on them and the risk they put themselves at as individuals but they must consider the wider impacts. One (unexpected) positive patient does not just mean that those in contact are now at risk but also that they are out of commission, leaving even fewer behind in an industry that needs more. here are appeals for retired workers to come back to support the NHS but even at the current levels of infections in the UK there are cracks in the system. The lack of funding which was public knowledge to all before the crisis will slowly be the demise of the system as pressure increases on these workers who are personally taking precautions that the system cannot afford to provide them with. Doctors and nurses are having to pay out of pocket for proper protective equipment that is not provided. I cannot claim to be any type of authority of the working and reasoning of why the operations are running as such but I can only assume the funding is being held for the peak of infection but the reality is that peak is only being drawn closer and more extensive with the rate of infection likely not only being higher but also unknown amongst healthcare workers than suspected due to the way the situation is being handled as well as the fucking mess that the whole thing is. The world runs on people and as those who are most key at this point in time (and always) are being recognised, they are also most in danger themselves and unlike the rest of us, their isolation affects not themselves but those who need the most care. The strain on the healthcare system will only increase in the coming months before we come out the other side, whenever that may be.

These key workers are being recognised but also others who are often disregarded in society; the shop workers, delivery drivers and so many others who make up the fabric of society but are not viewed in the same way as the healthcare workers. The recognition of the work that these people do is coming out with the slow realisation that the economy runs on these “invisible workers” who cannot work from home, as so many of us are now doing, and still have our lives continue in the way that they are.

People. It has already been mentioned here but  people are what everything depends on. And that is one of the few good things that have come out of this. People are coming together, going where they are needed, set technicians from offering up their skills to build hospitals, companies reassigning production to those things most in demand, initiatives for students to assist the elderly and vulnerable in the community who cannot survive self-isolation by themselves. People are coming together for the important things. So many are in self-isolation, and even though physically apart there is the knowledge that we are all together in this situation, doing our best, whatever that may be.

The world runs on people. Remember that.  

I fear I’ll write myself away.

Yet I don’t know what to do or say.

I can’t stop the process, it’s here to stay.

Don’t mind me, I’ll mind my way.

-

It’s a weird world to say the least.

The rich are born poor and the poor are born rich.

Trust me you don’t wanna make the switch.

It’s perspective, what will you take to your final feast?

What will you take to your final feast?

-

Will you bring all your demons?

Will you beat them with sermons?

You might find them as useless as two Mormons.

You might find them at the bottom of some bourbons.

-

I’m being symbolical and metaphorical.

Maybe the message will be lost in theoretical,

but what I’m trying to transmit is more than just ethical.

It’s a truth that I want you to recall.

-

It’s a truth that is lost in answers,

because in this there is no such end

as an answer. The question transfers

it’s power in form for you to mend,

that which requires to be mended;

that which is supposedly attended;

that which is meant to be repressed;

that which is always oppressed.

-

That’s how it goes in this little ball.

You could say we’re destined to fall.

Destined to symbolically implode.

While we literally explode.

I could keep babbling,

how I love rambling….

but to make it clear;

this is truly dear.

I’ll put it in simple words

that are trying to be heard.

Confía, this is not my invention:

Just Question,

Anyone who’s alive knows that It’s natural to want to live, And what it is you’re looking at Has only one alternative;