It has been slightly more than one month since I went into self-isolation in Healesville, Victoria together with my family. I am still enjoying the experience immensely; it has been rejuvenating, and despite the stay home order, it has been liberating. There has not been a time in the past where the world collectively have to stop. To me, there is no better time than now to rest my overheated and overused mind and body. It is also a precious opportunity to spend quality time with my family, something I have not done for ages. I have been traveling all my adult life, living most of the time out of a suitcase. It has not gotten any easier over the past 5 years as my family lives here in Australia while I have to go back and forth to Indonesia to care for my business. So I welcome this lock-down, but I have been wondering if this will be over soon.
There is a growing pressure for the world to resume life as it knows it. Unemployment is skyrocketing and the governments around the world are concerned over the impact of this to social stability. Businesses can't stay dormant for much longer without collapsing. As a businessman I can relate to this; my company can't last more than a couple of months in this condition. I have just announced salary cuts for myself and my employees. We are hurting badly, and I continue to wonder what the future will be like for my company.
So the pressure for a restart is clearly on the rise. The governments around the world, from Spain to USA have announced the plan for re-opening. Some other countries like India and Indonesia are struggling to executing the "lockdown" concept because of their vast geography and dense population. While they struggle with the rising infection cases, they are also under severe pressure to keep their people working. Some other countries like Australia and New Zealand seem to have done well in containing the virus so far, but the pressure of getting people back to work is likely mounting because of the severe economic condition.
The problem with this is that the reckless rush for a restart is going to be more dangerous than the disaster that has led us to the shutdown. The world has not had the opportunity to calm down from the disaster. There is increasing prejudice in the society and finger pointing between countries leaders over the cause of the virus. There are so many parties and companies who try to take profit from the crisis, like the media who benefit from rumors, the pharmaceuticals companies who obviously try to get the funding for their next product and even the writers and pundits who try to push their ideas and opinion. They are collectively creating an environment of fear, chaos and uncertainty. There is high speculative use of medicine and a mad rush towards a vaccine. A vaccine takes years and sometimes decades to create, but there are parties who tried to convince the world that they can do it fast and well.
Let us picture a driver who had an unfortunate event of driving his car against a brick wall. The driver was injured but was able to get out of the car. The car was in a pretty bad shape. He was driving to a job interview that meant so much to him; but this accident has thrown him to a state of emotional distress and trauma. Despite his state of bewilderment, he jumped in behind his wheel and tried to restart the car. If no one stopped him and he was able to restart the car, he would be a hazard to himself and others.
The world has a massive collision with the virus. All signs point out that the world is still in a state of high emotional distress. To rush to a restart would be the most dangerous thing to do.
The remedy to the COVID 19 crisis is not a medicine or a vaccine. The remedy is a complete acceptance that the world as we know it is over. Instead of focusing to restart a world that has been destroyed, the governments should focus on allowing the healing process to take its course peacefully. The governments can create programs, aids and assistance to people and businesses to endure the no-work and no-business period. As a businessman I will be very happy to redirect my company to work on areas that help build the new world. I am sure my employees will be very excited too.
The old world would ask what about those millions of people who are out of job and unemployed? First, we need to stop measuring them by unemployment rate. Majority of people love to be productive, and it is a part of the new world government to allow their productivity potential to rise up. Employment cannot be the measure of productivity; it was never the right measure in the first place and it is especially not suitable for the current situation. It is time to let go of this old concept. Contrary to what the old world like to make us believe, there is enough money, enough resources, enough food and enough work to go around. The role of the governments is to allow new fields to grow and distribute the opportunities well, not to make them scarce.
What about the situation with the corona virus itself?
The virus is hardly an issue if we have the time to endure it. It is only an issue if we try to rush to go back to our old way of living. Contrary to what the old world like to say, there is enough resources to treat the sick. But first we need to stop measuring the world by the rate of infection, because we will never know it. Nobody is measuring the rate of infection of dengue fever on a day to day basis. If they do, no one will ever visit the tropical islands and their beautiful beaches. We should also stop being obsessed by the mortality rate, because they are only interesting for the analysts and the economists but useless for those working in the hospitals. In this high tech age, how hard is it for the world to create masks, hand sanitizers, ventilators and personal protective clothes for the doctors and nurses? And why are the world so hung up over some brands of western medicine when there is an abundant source of healing in other places? Again, the governments' job is to distribute the resources well instead of making them scarce.
There is no question that we are living through an extraordinary moment. This extraordinary moment demands that all of us redirect and recreate the world. To rush away from it and try to restart the old world will not only be irresponsible, it will be a sure shot towards peril.
There is a growing pressure for the world to resume life as it knows it. Unemployment is skyrocketing and the governments around the world are concerned over the impact of this to social stability. Businesses can't stay dormant for much longer without collapsing. As a businessman I can relate to this; my company can't last more than a couple of months in this condition. I have just announced salary cuts for myself and my employees. We are hurting badly, and I continue to wonder what the future will be like for my company.
So the pressure for a restart is clearly on the rise. The governments around the world, from Spain to USA have announced the plan for re-opening. Some other countries like India and Indonesia are struggling to executing the "lockdown" concept because of their vast geography and dense population. While they struggle with the rising infection cases, they are also under severe pressure to keep their people working. Some other countries like Australia and New Zealand seem to have done well in containing the virus so far, but the pressure of getting people back to work is likely mounting because of the severe economic condition.
The problem with this is that the reckless rush for a restart is going to be more dangerous than the disaster that has led us to the shutdown. The world has not had the opportunity to calm down from the disaster. There is increasing prejudice in the society and finger pointing between countries leaders over the cause of the virus. There are so many parties and companies who try to take profit from the crisis, like the media who benefit from rumors, the pharmaceuticals companies who obviously try to get the funding for their next product and even the writers and pundits who try to push their ideas and opinion. They are collectively creating an environment of fear, chaos and uncertainty. There is high speculative use of medicine and a mad rush towards a vaccine. A vaccine takes years and sometimes decades to create, but there are parties who tried to convince the world that they can do it fast and well.
Let us picture a driver who had an unfortunate event of driving his car against a brick wall. The driver was injured but was able to get out of the car. The car was in a pretty bad shape. He was driving to a job interview that meant so much to him; but this accident has thrown him to a state of emotional distress and trauma. Despite his state of bewilderment, he jumped in behind his wheel and tried to restart the car. If no one stopped him and he was able to restart the car, he would be a hazard to himself and others.
The world has a massive collision with the virus. All signs point out that the world is still in a state of high emotional distress. To rush to a restart would be the most dangerous thing to do.
The remedy to the COVID 19 crisis is not a medicine or a vaccine. The remedy is a complete acceptance that the world as we know it is over. Instead of focusing to restart a world that has been destroyed, the governments should focus on allowing the healing process to take its course peacefully. The governments can create programs, aids and assistance to people and businesses to endure the no-work and no-business period. As a businessman I will be very happy to redirect my company to work on areas that help build the new world. I am sure my employees will be very excited too.
The old world would ask what about those millions of people who are out of job and unemployed? First, we need to stop measuring them by unemployment rate. Majority of people love to be productive, and it is a part of the new world government to allow their productivity potential to rise up. Employment cannot be the measure of productivity; it was never the right measure in the first place and it is especially not suitable for the current situation. It is time to let go of this old concept. Contrary to what the old world like to make us believe, there is enough money, enough resources, enough food and enough work to go around. The role of the governments is to allow new fields to grow and distribute the opportunities well, not to make them scarce.
What about the situation with the corona virus itself?
The virus is hardly an issue if we have the time to endure it. It is only an issue if we try to rush to go back to our old way of living. Contrary to what the old world like to say, there is enough resources to treat the sick. But first we need to stop measuring the world by the rate of infection, because we will never know it. Nobody is measuring the rate of infection of dengue fever on a day to day basis. If they do, no one will ever visit the tropical islands and their beautiful beaches. We should also stop being obsessed by the mortality rate, because they are only interesting for the analysts and the economists but useless for those working in the hospitals. In this high tech age, how hard is it for the world to create masks, hand sanitizers, ventilators and personal protective clothes for the doctors and nurses? And why are the world so hung up over some brands of western medicine when there is an abundant source of healing in other places? Again, the governments' job is to distribute the resources well instead of making them scarce.
There is no question that we are living through an extraordinary moment. This extraordinary moment demands that all of us redirect and recreate the world. To rush away from it and try to restart the old world will not only be irresponsible, it will be a sure shot towards peril.
