Is This How The World Works, Or Am I Just Crazy?

I just went downstairs this evening, into the walk-in basement I live in, and was greeted by the war news on TV. The housemates were huddled together on the couch, listening to the reporter’s narrative of the explosions that occurred in Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine, which resulted in the deaths of over 100 Ukrainian civilians. Everyone around me had been commenting on this issue for weeks now, yet their opinions all sound the same:

“Russia is the sinner, and America, the saint…”

Now let’s not delve into the political scenario here. What I find mind-boggling is that there is not much of media attention on the pandemic now, it’s all about “the war”!!!

Up until last month, the news channels, the papers, and the internet were all congested with the reports on the intimidating variants of COVID-19. The Delta, the Omicron, the Deltacron… People kept talking about it than anything else… The signs on buses, schools, and streets were all telling us to wear masks, sanitize our hands, maintain social distancing, and worse… to stay at home!

Now comes the news of out the blue: the mask mandate may be lifted, malls are going to be open in full capacity, and vaccine passports may no longer be needed…

The global media is pursuing the news on war!

Is it that people are bored of the pandemic that has been going on for a couple of years now, that they chose to live with it?

Or is the war deadlier than the virus?

We never know! But there’s one thing that will forever remain the rule in the world; the media will always cater the latest news to its audience. New topics will divert our attention from what is still happening. People want to hear something fresh and exciting all the time, and controversies are here to stay…

This phenomenon has been around ever since the media became popular. The recent popularity of Social Networking sites have alleviated this whole game. The deadly chimes about the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is now suppressed in the news. No more news on restrictions, curfews, governmental mandates, travel restrictions, mask mandates, etc. And it seems like the attention of the public has been diverted to the war. People aren’t talking about the virus-related death/recovery tolls anymore, rather what you hear is the lives lost in explosions and about the thousands of refugees fleeing Ukraine in search of a better life. All you may hear while walking down the streets are the names of two countries: Ukraine, and Russia…

And lo and behold, there comes the news about relaxing the pandemic restrictions, that the government and the public were both keen in implementing and breaking. Until a few weeks back, the major debates happening were about obeying or rebelling against wearing N-95 masks. Now, everyone is betting on the fate of Ukraine after the war. Will it be destroyed? Will it be annexed to the Russian giant? Will the people fleeing cause refugee tensions or xenophobia in the countries tha extend their open arms to them?

I try and ask about the latest news about the pandemic to my housemate, who is staring on at the live news on the war that is being broadcasted on the television. He looks up after a delay and then replies that he doesn’t know anything about it anymore. He says that perhaps all the restrictions will be lifted as of next month, as nobody seems to take any particular interest in it nowadays. I walk back to my room. Suddenly I feel like the pandemic has ended. And where it left off, the war began!

I don’t get it… Is this how the world works, or am I just crazy?