Coronavirus  Has Targeted Cultures

Since December 2019, and for almost one year, that the sun of Coronavirus (COVID-19) has risen in countries, this time this sun seems so scorching that anyone who does not shelter in the shade will burn. And it even has turned those who have not taken shelter into a tool in order to destroy their dynast.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

I was pondering what the governments, media, religious and cultural centers or anywhere there is a tribune would say about the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Would they say to observe social distancing? Do they say to wear face mask in order to prevent from transmission of your respiratory saliva to others? And also would they tell you to take care of other people’s saliva not to be transmitted to you? Would they tell you to wash your hands when you touch anything? Would they tell you not to travel? Or some other recommendations? It means countries impose lockdowns on their societies in order to stop their public getting close to each other. If someone wants to recommend entirely all of these measures and protocols to the people, what he should say? Should not he say that a stranger has infiltrated among you and you should keep away him? And why do we disregard these recommendations? Why do not we take the recommendations seriously and ignore them? Has not this amount of deaths, surrounding us, been a serious sign but we still do not like our lives? In fact, with which part of today’s human body associates obeying one sincere recommendation or advice?

In my opinion, today’s culture of Coronavirus cannot cope with culture-oriented people but those who refrain from observing cautionary recommendations and advice will suffer from this plight. Have a look at this pandemic in the world. A glance at the number of COVID-19 infected people, at the number of its death toll and at the fluctuation of the number of deaths and infections, all tell us that all of us by ourselves individually can throw out this virus from us, our families, our cities and even our country. What does this mean? With moving in the culture-oriented direction. Moving in direction of obeying all preventive methods to contain the outbreak of this pandemic. Some countries have not essentially been affected by the virus. What does it mean? It means the degree of culture and understanding has reached a level in those countries that they have contained the virus and stopped it from spreading.

Some countries due to the level of culture of their people have let this pandemic target their social scenes and inflict its devastating effect on them. Today let’s have a look at the rankings of the countries affected by the virus with the U.S. at the top of the list. Let’s call the place of country in the ranking as the level of the unculturedness. The U.S. ranks first and such-and-such country is the last in the standings. In other words, one can claim that the COVID-19 pandemic not only has engaged countries with the health and hygiene crisis in the society but also has turned into the major issues of the governments and nations like economy, livelihood, and lack of facilities. The more the number of the countries are engaged in this virus increases, the more these complications will increase.

Just in the past two months, the number of the COVID-19 infected in the world has doubled and it has reached tens of millions. Suppose people in the world have observed all medical and health prescriptions and recommendations and have not let the virus have spread. Could the statistics have been like what they are today? Ancestors have always reiterated that culture is above all but who has given a damn to it.

Someone in his article had called for treatment of the unculturedness with dictatorship and he had given some examples for his claim that those countries which have a centralized government (like China) have an easier task because they order the businesses to shut down  or they order the businesses to resume and people obey it and get used to it.

Of course in those countries, the transparent information and data is less released and we do not know what costs and benefits of such decisions are. But in the free societies, the decision for lockdown and keeping the people at home or resumption of businesses are very difficult and assessing the costs and benefits of it faces a lot of troubles. In other words, one can say when people live more freely they cause more costs. In other words, it imposes its level of culture on its citizens.

At the end of this article I should raise this issue that the goal behind writing this article is not at insulting the common sense of the society but it is aimed at awakening and filliping the minds of any one of us.

These days, the home quarantine has not happened as we liked and it is imposed on the public unwillingly. Suppose all people of a city take recommendations seriously. They refrain from traveling, …etc. Well. The city will return to the white condition. And if people in the world all act this way, sooner or later, it will include all humans of the world. So let me say that COVID-19 has taken the microphone in his hand and yells that it will not enter the center of a united nation who is boosting culture but the unculturedness in any level and degree will open the way for the presence of virus.

  By: Hamid Reza Naghashian