Some countries are doing a pretty good job of handling the COVID-19 crisis. Nobody’s acing it yet, but we’re working on it. However, there are wider ramifications in the rest of the world that we need to be conscious of.
As we watch our neighbours to the south imploding from the weight of their own discord, we need to remember that any epidemic of this sort reveals the weaknesses of every society. The Americans, who were already in the middle of a social and political crisis, have had the situation exacerbated by the epidemic, revealing the crumbling of the American Dream.
But what about the rest of the world? One of the more modern democracies is staggering from the blows of this tragedy, which has revealed for all to see the number of their population who do not have the common good at heart. Think now of the newer democracies, where the necessary education and attitude is barely present in enough quantity for democracy to work. I hate to be pessimistic but wait until the long-term social and economic effects of the pandemic set in. I fully expect to see, in Africa, South America and the Middle East, a renewal of the rebellions that have been smoldering there.
At the moment, the immediate threat of the pandemic is giving central governments the clout to handle the situation as well as they can, and the excuse to clamp down on any refusal to cooperate. Another year of continued economic chaos and that control will falter. The worst of the powerful will use the excuse to line their own pockets. The result could be catastrophic for those countries.
What can we do about it? I have no idea, but the one thing the COVID epidemic has demonstrated to the human race; you can’t go wrong by being as prepared as possible.