Who cares for public good?

Who cares for public good?

Fame, name and money don't matter. When life itself is under threat, these don't really count. Indeed, a virus of an unknown and invisible kind has completely pushed everything else aside as mankind, as a whole, is struggling to hold on to dear life.

Covid-19 has redefined the meaning of relationship. In the new normal world, immediate neighbours have become close relatives, and family members living afar have become a regular digital contact. This is a new experience. Reconciling to this new order is going to take a long time to come. But one has very little option in an unfolding environment which has worsened the ability to get over the hard punch Covid-19 has delivered to people's confidence. 

“Some known faces seem to have suddenly disappeared,” said an electrician who was doing a household errand in the midst of an escalating Covid virus. "It looks like we will go away without seeing our relatives,’’ quipped a ranking executive in a private firm. These tongue-in-cheek observations picture the enormity of the problem facing mankind at the moment. A sense of fear is spreading fast. And, this feeling of resignation has virtually immobilised everybody. A kind of helplessness – physically, psychologically and financially – has engulfed all without exception. Covid-19 doesn’t recognize colour, caste, creed, community, gender, geography et al. It embraces everybody sans discrimination. Covid-19 is classification-agnostic. This is evident in the way it collects its victims.

Poor communication

As the nation is reeling under a fresh wave of virus with far more severe fall-outs, we seem to be running helter-skelter in multi-directions. At an individual level, an avoidable defiance is widely seen. A nonchalant attitude with contemptuous disregard to the enormity of the problem is passed without anybody even raising an issue of it. For many, walking without wearing a mask and giving a go by to distancing norms are quite a normal behaviour! But Covid-19 has rendered most normal things abnormal. And, it has pushed a perfectly normal person out of the picture. It appears that the seriousness of the evolving situation has not really percolated down to the bottom of the pyramid level.

 One thing is very clear, however. The communication to this class is either missing or inadequate. The blame for this failure must be apportioned across different layers in the system. Educating everybody on what should be done and what not to be done is the single biggest challenge at the moment if the country has to succeed in check-mating Covid-19.  If this hurdle is not crossed, other livelihood-hurting measures such as lock-down and the like will yield very little result in terms of arresting the spreading virus. Even for the vaccination mission to realise its objective, it is crucial to bring on board people at the bottom of the pyramid. Somewhere along, the message is not articulated properly to reach the masses.

Game of one-upmanship

The Covid-19 crisis appears to have triggered a game of one-upmanship. Everybody – common man, educated, religion leaders, community heads and political bosses – is now in a free-for-all play in diverse social media platforms, either pontificating or deriding the actions of the ruling class on the Covid front. What is particularly evident in all these cross-shouting is the complete absence of not just responsibility but civility as well. Unfortunately, our response to the Covid-19 crisis appears to be a collective irresponsibility. As individuals and also as a collection, we seem happy settling scores with one another. Governments may come and governments may go. But, as a class, we need to be responsible across all layers.  The issue is not about who is right or who is wrong. The issue is about us (individually and collectively) being right. If we have to see off Covid-19, this thought process must percolate across all individuals.

Politicians as a community have not been a good example during these Covid times. They deliberately chose to be oblivious to Covid as they addressed election rallies when some of the States went to polls recently. Covid-induced standard operating procedures (SOP) were all observed only in breach. Since elections are over, they are now seeking to discipline people with stricter lock-downs! Nothing could be more farcical than this. If only leaders of political parties – big and small alike– have at least prevailed upon their cadres to wear masks, maintain social distance and get vaccinated, they would have done yeoman service to mankind. Win or loss aside, they would have contributed immensely to the well-being of at least their party men. Alas, the winning and losing politicians have collectively led down their cadres in these crucial times.

The role of influencers 

 The quest for power seems to have consumed them fully. They don’t mind if Covid consumes their cadres! Unfortunately, this is the sense an objective watcher gets.  Religious leaders and community heads across all hues, too, could have prevailed upon their followers to enforce Covid protocols. After all, they all held quite an influence at least among their followers. Unfortunately, Covid now has turned out to be a convenient stick for everybody to hit at each other. Collectively, we have got into a narrow street. And, the escape route is naturally choked. The blame game is not ending anytime soon at least.

There is something called public good and public bad. If we don’t care for public good, we end up promoting public bad. The responsibility to foster public good, however, lies on all of us. Of course, it starts right up from the top. It must percolate down to the bottom. The onus squarely rests with the political class – the ruling as well the Opposition. Collectively, they owe to the people of this country. After all, they are rulers in some states and Opposition in some others. As such, they have a principal role in navigating the nation to safety, out of the Corona clutch.

This war against Corona has to be fought both at individual and collective levels. There are no two views on this. Bringing everybody onto a single page, however, is easier said than done. It has to be done.

 Who cares?  We must. But are we?