A politically incorrect analysis of this disgusting world
Nature has been around for 4,5 billion years, 22,500 times longer than the human being. We are just a very late product of its evolution and a minimal experience if we compare it to her age. We have proven to be dangerous and often irresponsible. Of the past 3,400 years, humans have been entirely at peace for 268 of them, or just 8 percent of recorded history. In the 20th Century alone, we have fought at least 31 major Wars. WWI, WWII and the Russian Civil War killed an estimated 133 Million people combined. Human irresponsibility has displayed itself in numerous other forms; from destroying entire animal genres to polluting the air we need to live, from causing financial crisis, to empower discriminating laws against our similars, from decimating forests, to “forget” about entire continents for centuries.
In a book I am reading, the author is asking God why he is allowing men and women to destroy each other, daily, in countless forms. God’s answer is illuminating, and he says, “You see, I have made a mistake; men asked for freedom, and I decided to give it to them, and now it’s their responsibility.”
1st World Problems are World Problems
Today, after we have encountered an unprecedented virus that is making the world to halt, I have thought about a bigger picture. A cynical one at times, maybe pessimistic, a scientific one more often. Today 62 labs of the world are joining forces to find the vaccine for the Corona (source: National Geographic). The National Geographic claims no vaccine has ever been formulated in less than three years in history when a new illness arrived. Hundred of scientists are squeezing their immense brains to accelerate this complicated process, which will save lives and reinstate an acceptable economy. Yes, it is a pandemic, a disaster that is heavily involving 50 out of 200 sovereign countries. Millions of $ are being spent on testing and on finding the miracle syringe to extinguish the evil.
As of today, the top five countries have made a total of 6.9 Million tests. It is reasonable to say each test costs around 300 $ each. This means we have already spent an excess of 2 billion USD on testing only. The virus has already killed 113,000 people (as of April 12th 2020), so it’s dead serious, and we have to fix it.
3rd World problems are just problems
But I said I would be scientific and that I want to see the bigger picture. If I say something you already know or find redundant, please stop reading. Ready? UNICEF claims that 5.4 million kids under the age of 5 die every year of starvation. This happens for the majority of cases in some countries of Africa. In these countries, a child can survive a year with say 1,000 $ (I am very generous). So, today, no questions asked, the world is rushing for the Corona solution, and it’s okay, but there has been a majestically more significant pandemic for over 40 years that has decimated the young population of the world. There is nothing that has ever happened to the human kind that is remotely close to the gravity of this loss. It’s the biggest tragedy the world has ever encountered.
With the 2 billion USD that we are spending for testing, plus the 3.5 Billion USD already spent on dedicated research, no questions asked, we could have saved more than 5.5 Million kids this year. Do you see the numbers? 5.5 million youngsters against 110 thousand adults. It’s 2%. But it happens in Africa, and it’s far away from the Western World.
From UNICEF
“Globally, in 2017, half of all deaths under five years of age took place in sub-Saharan Africa, and another 30 per cent in Southern Asia. In sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 13 children died before their fifth birthday. In high-income countries, that number was 1 in 185.”
From THE LANCET
Between 2016 and 2030, 94·4 million children are projected to die before the age of 5 years if the 2015 mortality rate remains constant in each country, and 68·8 million would die if each country continues to reduce its mortality rate at the pace estimated from 2000 to 2015.
All I can see is Nature observing the contradictions, the hypocrisy of its latest human experiment. And I can see her asking herself, “What have I done wrong this time?.”
My Moment is Coming!!
One day the Corona Virus will be defeated; some narcissistic prime minister will cover himself with “Laude” because he was lucky enough the vaccine was discovered in his own country. Some scientists will receive the Nobel Prize and will attend all the most glamorous TV shows. They will look great on TV and will say, “It has been a team effort,” but in the meantime, their book will sell millions of copies. In the meantime, one child below the age of 5 die every 5 seconds; but it’s in Africa. We are tackling this problem with such a dedication simply because it’s affecting the Western world and because it’s a threat to the Economy of the Western world. No other reasons. If those 110,000 casualties from the virus had happened in Congo, no one would have cared. Nobody. It would have gone in the news of some politically incorrect TV anchors. Uff, poor guys, just another malaria.
No questions asked, we spent everything we could to defeat this terrible disease, and we are heroes. Will we learn something from this war fought from our sofa? Nothing, niet, nada, niente.
We are looking way too much in our mirrors. How pretty we look! We cannot wait for tragedies like this to show how good we are, because it has short term return, because it’s a solvable problem with relatively small losses and because it will generate wealth once this is finished. This tragedy is gold for some of us.
Do you know what Nature would do? Let it be. Species have been extinguishing forever, and Nature has always been evolving, growing, learning, and becoming wiser. Surely we are not that mean. We have intelligence and skills; we solve problems, we make great things, and we make our population grow older every year;
Looking at the bigger picture, in my opinion, we don’t deserve this world. We are bad students; we don’t learn from history; we only do what we like and what makes us prettier. God was right. We don’t deserve freedom.