Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are our own fears.
– Rudyard Kipling, English journalist, poet and writer
The war waged by an almost invisible microbe is baffling, belittling and embarrassing governments. Governments and their militaries are humbled, silent and impotent since there is no known cure for it as yet. In the meantime the why-rus in my gene pool has been activated. So, I began my own inquiries, enquirers and investigations into this unwelcome, scary, and deadly “Covid-19.”
WHY does this “coronavirus” suddenly decide to debilitate and devour mankind? Microbiologists insist it has been around for thousands of years, so is this pestilence un-prevented by the Almighty as an early-warning signal that our disobedience toward Mother Earth doesn’t go unnoticed?
We have had our share of the Bubonic plague, SARS, Ebola, and Chikungunya attacks, so why this sudden alien attack? Is our immune system failing? The how to cure it is as crucial as why it decided to attack. The what to do, and not to do, is taking all the praise.
Why did it flare up in China, and then go after Europe? This can’t be a racist microbe! How about irresponsible flu-carrying travellers? One feeble explanation I received was that most lactose-intolerant ethnic Chinese are more vulnerable to virus visits. Why did it affect Italy? Lactose-intolerance is high in Italy? Come off it, any un-muzzled cough or sneeze has the real potential of carrying and delivering deadly germs and microbes with the associated virus claiming dominance when your immune system is suspect.
Why did scientific sleuths, pioneering researchers, and medical experts name this invisible assassin the “coronavirus” unless they acknowledged its existence and presence? What about the works of Jeanne Guillemin and William C Patrick III who excelled in finding and isolating microscopic killers?
If medical researchers knew of this deadly virus, why didn’t they find an antidote, or a cure for it since they had isolated the culprit? I mean when you have identified something deadly and sinister would you not want to know HOW to combat it, control it, contain it, and destroy it?
Strong rumors are circulating that some superpower is covertly waging a deadly biological warfare without missiles and nuclear attacks. But who is the adversary who is eligible for this genre of attack?
Many fear a biological Armageddon. The only thing that works to control mankind is fear. Tell someone not to use the toilet because there is a large black snake seen slithering around, and I guarantee you nobody would even dare to make their bladder gladder, or indulge in a controlled bowel movement exercise.
Fear works wonders. “The only thing to fear is fear itself,” said Franklin D Roosevelt during his inaugural address in 1933 when financial ruin was contagion in the United States.
F-E-A-R, as an acronym for False Evidence Appearing Real, Forget Everything And Run, and Face Everything And Rise, is a good morale booster. This Covid-19 virus, according to health professionals and experts, has been around for thousands of years like the frog and the cockroach, which we are told, have never evolved.
So, I asked, would a flu shot take care of it to protect me? Some doctors agreed. I told one doctor that I contracted flu aftertaking a flu shot. He looked uncomfortably embarrassed.
Governments should spend time, effort, and precious resources to find a lasting cure for this virus that is threatening our lives and livelihoods.
Testing whether one is affected without an available cure is bafflingly frustrating. Governments must stop pretending that this will all go away when mass movements of people are restricted and limited.
To combat this coronavirus attack, we must, most assuredly, take every conceivable measure of prevention, precaution and protection. But, governments must offer germ warfare experts carte blanche to get into overload, overkill, and overtime mode to isolate the killer. It’s not unprecedented.
Unabashedly, I can tell you that Malaysian public toilets are part of the problem. Government has done nothing permanent to create awareness to this perennial problem, but I do notice significant improvement in the rest stops along the Malaysian highways.
Restaurants are always the number one culprits, and our Malaysian health authorities cast a Nelson’s eye. The super-active why-rus in me questions the ability and suitability of governments to find closure to this insanity usually caused by unhygienic environmental conditions which has always had the capability to create uninhibited havoc.
The government of Malaysia spends billions on unnecessary projects, but Project Correct Hygiene is utterly necessary.
The why-rus factor in me is on high alert. Danger is real. Fear is a choice. Don’t let your fear of what could happen make nothing happen.
I am often encouraged by Henry Ford’s advice: “One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he could not do.”
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the New Sarawak Tribune.
