Author: Miša Lukić
Our world has failed its most important test, the test of its humanity. Had the members of the EU come together and intervened immediately to help Italy, deploying their full human and material resources, and then done the same for every other country attacked by the virus, things might well be very different… the virus has spread like wildfire, but had we all mobilised our equipment and firefighters to put it out, perhaps we could have done so, or at least contained it… but everyone started looking out for number one, seeking cover from the fire, and building wooden fences… there’s been a failure of true togetherness in good times and bad, because, it turns out, countries don’t form their alliances or cooperate based on common values or an advanced morality but purely on material interests…
Another sign the world is in major crisis is that countries are all making individual plans to exit it, even though it is clearly a global health and economic crisis that can only be solved by the world pulling together. The invisible enemy, as some are calling it, can only be beaten by visible community and unity. You fight enemies by making friends. That is how it has always been and always will be. People unite to overcome adversity and to create a better future together, for themselves and for future generations.
This virus attacks everything. It is fatal when paired with an underlying health condition… which puts the current global system itself at serious risk, given the many signs that it is itself fundamentally unhealthy and suffering from a host of afflictions… we all know how much more the world invests in arms to destroy people than in healthcare to protect them… the arms race has after all not been to develop weapons to bring down a comet that could destroy the world so much as nuclear projectiles that can handily extinguish all human and other life on the planet… we all know that every day we are destroy yet more of the planet’s vital natural resources, resources on which the survival of future generations depends… we all know that really-existing shareholder capitalism places corporate profit and money over human lives and mother nature…
This virus may attack the respiratory system on the human body, but in the world of human relations it attacks trust, which is the social oxygen we need to survive and develop a proper global community…
The ability to establish and build trust is a key feature of societal and economic relations. Without trust, yes, development and progress are endangered, but more importantly so is survival. Trust between people and nations creates an immune system that can fight off every threat.
We all see that trust in and between people is at great risk and that we must preserve and restore it at all costs. We all need to focus on restoring our lost trust by our behaviour and actions… every individual or government action must also aim at building trust between people and nations… only then can this global crisis be a positive turning point…
One bright spot is that there are new kids on the block, new generations who consider the planet their home and collaboration their natural “modus operandi”… Our job is to support them…
P.S. If we don’t finally come to our senses after this crisis, I hope those new generations give us the finger before just getting on with building a NEW WORLD…
