Time to Act

With news of the effects of second and third and even fourth waves of the COVID-19 virus and probable variant strains becoming more and more alarming everyday, there should be now no doubt that all of us live on one planet. We live on a planet that no longer has political borders. We are not citizens of this country or that country or this state or that state. We are indeed global citizens whether we want that or not. The Corona virus will not pull over for the guards at any national border-crossing to have its belongings checked or to have its intentions weighed carefully by some officious immigration officer. No, it will blow right on by and keep going until it has achieved its biological mission of infecting a host and splicing itself into the genetic material of that host’s cells so that it can keep on reproducing. This virus depends on all the negative human traits and characteristics that we can muster in order to survive and to continue being productive and successful with respect to its own simple definition of success and productivity. This virus depends on human pride and greed and stupidity in order to keep going. This virus will win this war if we continue to act like the proud, greedy and stupid humans we are so good at being. In order to win this “war” we have to stop acting like we have acted for so long now and start acting like cooperative, kind, helpful and caring human beings. We have to think and act intelligently. We have to be smarter than the virus which is depending on us not to be smart. We have to think and act at least as well as the virus itself. No more blaming, nor more finger-pointing, no more scape-goating. This is not the Wuhan virus or the Chinese virus or the Italian virus or the New York virus. It is the 2020 COVID-19 WORLD virus. If we think about it in any other way or if we think suspiciously about our Asian and/or world neighbours or if we fail to act more intelligently than the virus itself, we are only going to see things get worse. It is indeed time to act. And, here is my plan:

1. Stop the transmission of the virus now – World-wide, mandatory shut down of all travel and non-essential recreational and labor activities. World leaders should come together on this. The world should be invoking Martial Law if necessary, to ensure that this is followed and not just followed in one or two countries or local jurisdictions but followed everywhere in every corner of the globe. The goal is to see zero new cases within the week. If the United States wants to really do something about stopping the virus and to actually do something for themselves and the rest of the world, they can lead the way on this front. They have the biggest, baddest military in the world for crying out loud. Let’s put them to work to police the stoppage of travel on a world wide basis. Let’s get them positioned for an aggressive shut-down starting yesterday at the latest.

2. Supply all Health-care workers (world wide) and the facilities they work in, with all (and more) of the protective gear and technical equipment necessary to treat the people who are already infected with the virus. By all means necessary, we have to protect the people who are treating us medically. Without them we are all potential victims. To accomplish this - we have all long known that China is the greatest manufacturing giant in the world. Let’s pay them, big money if necessary, to build new factories or convert old ones into manufacturing plants for all the medical and personal protective supplies necessary to outfit the entire world’s hospitals and treatment centers. And let’s get them on it now!!!! We know they can build multiple hospitals in less than two weeks so, this should not be a problem. Somebody just needs to grow a pair and to set pride aside enough to make the phone call and let’s get this underway “zai zhi li he xian zai”!!!

3. Shorten the timeline for the creation of a preventative vaccine and/or an antidotal cure for the virus. We cannot wait any longer for a finished product on this one. Let’s use the personnel and laboratory facilities already present in the British Commonwealth because they still cover a lot of the planet. They should be able to come up with something that is test-worthy in a day or two. Seriously, drop the politics people and do what we actually know we can do. Money is no object either!!

4. Finally, lets make sure this sort of global crisis does not happen again. We know how viruses work. We know how humans work. Let’s do some up-front and preventative education and stock-piling so that when the next virus happens along, we can deal with it a little more efficiently than we did on this one. And, we know that it will happen along; just like the swine flu did and the bird flu and SARS and H1N1 and COVID-19 and any of the countless other viruses out there, just waiting to prey on human ignorance and lack of preparation. It may come in 5 years from now or in two years or next year or maybe its already here, just waiting to prey on the leftovers of COVID-19. Whatever and whenever, we need to wake up. What we have now is exactly the blue-print necessary for the extinction of humans so the planet can put in place some new and perhaps more intelligent species of organism to be the stewards for the next million years.

In summary, we need to drop the blaming and start the action. Pointing fingers is not conducive to actually getting something done. If my plan is not acceptable, that’s OK. I’m a big boy, I can take it and I’m not proud at this point. We don’t have to follow my plan. I’m OK with following some other plan. But there has to be a plan and it has to have at least two of the features in common to my plan – namely, it has to be formulated and put into action last week and it has to show the heart, kindness, caring and intelligence of mankind. COVID-19 doesn’t even have a brain or a heart and right now its kicking butt and taking names. We have to do better than a simple bloody virus can do don’t we people?