Coronavirus Unites Us All

The news is overwhelming and conversation depressing. We seem to have nothing important to talk about except Coronavirus in every waking minute. Or nothing matters to us anymore when the virus spreads like wildfire, claiming thousands of human lives during a short period of time. School closed, business shut down, large events banned, and people are panic. The whole world is experiencing the inconvenience and feeling the pain this incredible virus imposes on us.

Coronavirus unites us all! Through pain and fear, unfortunately.  For a long time, human being has eventually found a common enemy to fear for and fight against and a shared mission of eliminating the virus to accomplish. For a long time in this increasingly dividing world, nature presents us an opportunity to put aside all differences— whether it is ideology, culture, religion,  race, or nationality, and fight together— not as Chinese or American, Muslims or Christians, republicans, democrats, or socialists, but as human species. Because this is a war that no individual, party, class, nation can fight and win alone. We are all in this together.

Needless to say, the spreading of this deadly virus among us human is a consequence of human choices over past decades or centuries: Our overpopulation of the earth, overuse of the land, reckless expanding of our territory and invading into the space of wildlife… All in all, it is the greed, the insatiable greed of human race that brought this on all of us.

Coronavirus is laughing at us: Look at you, Home Sapiens. Have you learned your lesson yet? Will you?

Like or not, Corona virus will most likely stay with us for a while. With time, we may be able to find a cure: Either a vaccine or a drug. Or we may have to wait and wish they evolve into something less deadly, after they have all the fun in tearing our family apart and turning our life upside-down.

Coronavirus tells us how fragile we actually are. Humans are, after all, not god, and we need to stop playing GOD.

Coronavirus reminds us of the fact that we share the earth with over a million other species, and our existence and wellbeing are dependent on those species and the whole ecosystem. And we must treat our fellow residents and the ecosystem with respect and set clear boundaries in pursuing our own wellbeing development.

Coronavirus is a test not only to our health care system but also our collective wisdom and courage. Can we, for humanity’s sake, put aside all the differences and fight together across borders and ideology? Can our people in power take this crisis as an opportunity to unite us rather than divide us even further? Can we, as ordinary citizens, think independently and make efforts to initiate and impact positive changes instead of merely follow the flow?

Regardless, we will get through this crisis. Coronavirus will become history. But history tends to repeat itself. Nothing will stop the next pandemic to take place; however, if we have learned or will learn any lesson in this crisis, we may be able to postpone the next one from happening so soon, and we may be able to mitigate its destructiveness better the next time.