We are in a quandary. On the one hand, we have heard hundreds of false alarms before:
And panic is not healthy.
On the other hand, the most destructive conflict in world history, the Second World War, began with lots of dismissive eye-rolling based on how past events had failed to materialize as well. In so far as illustrating the danger of building up an immunity to believing the "big one" is coming, few examples could paint a more dramatic picture, both in terms of scale and outcome.
Furthermore, the Zika virus, the Swine flu and all the other causes for alarm are not the issue at hand; we are dealing with the COVID-19-causing coronavirus, which has entered the world under unique and mysterious circumstances. Moreover, no virus is exactly the same as another, and even a known virus can mutate from something easily conquerable to very much the opposite. So, it is foolish to let your guard down just because we have "been through something like this before", especially when one considers the potentially-fatal repercussions of doing such.
But there is another complication to be aware of. Arguably, the problem can be classified as a virus, too - a mind-virus, clouding one's reactive judgement and ability to act appropriately to protect their country from a disaster. Perhaps such a thing explains why Italian authorities failed to quarantine those who were arriving in Italy from the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in China. The World Health Organization (WHO) is now reporting that over 1500 people are currently hospitalized in Italy and the virus is spreading. Worse, according to Italian authorities, 29% of the 117 closed COVID-19 coronavirus cases in Italy have ended in death.
By comparison, Russia invoked a strong response to the COVID-19 coronavirus. That response involved mandatory quarantines for newly-arriving persons from China - and the deportation of around 80 people for violating those terms. Russia currently has zero active cases of this coronavirus. Meanwhile, Israel has had quarantines in effect for travelers arriving from China, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Thailand (1, 2). Israel has now also implemented a mandatory, two-week quarantine for all travelers who have been to Italy at any time in the last fourteen days.
Some might say that what happened in Italy could have happened anywhere. Others will observe that - except for a brief spell of fascist rule under Mussolini - modern Italy is not exactly known for order. The capital, Rome, has the honor of being the only major city in Western Europe I know of that people refuse to fly out of because they fear their luggage will go missing. And yes, fitting the cliche, my luggage did get lost on a flight from there! Case in point: Italy is not exactly the most organized of places. It would be a shame if its follies end up wreaking havoc for the rest of Europe.
And panic is not healthy.
On the other hand, the most destructive conflict in world history, the Second World War, began with lots of dismissive eye-rolling based on how past events had failed to materialize as well. In so far as illustrating the danger of building up an immunity to believing the "big one" is coming, few examples could paint a more dramatic picture, both in terms of scale and outcome.
Furthermore, the Zika virus, the Swine flu and all the other causes for alarm are not the issue at hand; we are dealing with the COVID-19-causing coronavirus, which has entered the world under unique and mysterious circumstances. Moreover, no virus is exactly the same as another, and even a known virus can mutate from something easily conquerable to very much the opposite. So, it is foolish to let your guard down just because we have "been through something like this before", especially when one considers the potentially-fatal repercussions of doing such.
But there is another complication to be aware of. Arguably, the problem can be classified as a virus, too - a mind-virus, clouding one's reactive judgement and ability to act appropriately to protect their country from a disaster. Perhaps such a thing explains why Italian authorities failed to quarantine those who were arriving in Italy from the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in China. The World Health Organization (WHO) is now reporting that over 1500 people are currently hospitalized in Italy and the virus is spreading. Worse, according to Italian authorities, 29% of the 117 closed COVID-19 coronavirus cases in Italy have ended in death.
By comparison, Russia invoked a strong response to the COVID-19 coronavirus. That response involved mandatory quarantines for newly-arriving persons from China - and the deportation of around 80 people for violating those terms. Russia currently has zero active cases of this coronavirus. Meanwhile, Israel has had quarantines in effect for travelers arriving from China, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Thailand (1, 2). Israel has now also implemented a mandatory, two-week quarantine for all travelers who have been to Italy at any time in the last fourteen days.
Some might say that what happened in Italy could have happened anywhere. Others will observe that - except for a brief spell of fascist rule under Mussolini - modern Italy is not exactly known for order. The capital, Rome, has the honor of being the only major city in Western Europe I know of that people refuse to fly out of because they fear their luggage will go missing. And yes, fitting the cliche, my luggage did get lost on a flight from there! Case in point: Italy is not exactly the most organized of places. It would be a shame if its follies end up wreaking havoc for the rest of Europe.
Still, the rest of the European Union (EU), on notice about Italy's problem, appears to be headed for the same outcome; Germany has vowed to leave itself open to travel, and much of the EU has elected to do this as well. Switzerland and France have only taken action to ban large gatherings of people (1, 2). Whatever mind-virus seems to have possessed Italy, well, it appears to have the rest of Europe under its spell, too.
And then there's Israel and Russia. Israel and Russia have reacted to this coronavirus in a way that prioritizes the health, welfare and survival of their own people, but this was not the first time such a thing has happened. Recall that Israel built not just one border wall, but two. Israel has also limited itself when it comes to refugees, citing a desire to preserve its state identity. As for Russia, the Kremlin has vowed to fight its depopulation problem by encouraging mass-births, not importing random people. Its leader has stood up to protect the public from the burdens of mass immigration, too.
And then there's Israel and Russia. Israel and Russia have reacted to this coronavirus in a way that prioritizes the health, welfare and survival of their own people, but this was not the first time such a thing has happened. Recall that Israel built not just one border wall, but two. Israel has also limited itself when it comes to refugees, citing a desire to preserve its state identity. As for Russia, the Kremlin has vowed to fight its depopulation problem by encouraging mass-births, not importing random people. Its leader has stood up to protect the public from the burdens of mass immigration, too.
By contrast, the EU has made no such pledges about immigration to its people and cares so little about them that a completely new population is being imported and receives millions of Euros in aid specifically, which the EU's organic population is taxed to high heaven in order to support. In France, major global corporations throw their hat in the ring for politicians who preach that national preservation is terribly backward - unlike open-borders globalism, the sort of thing that has contributed to the spread of this coronavirus. Germany is on the same page; German politician Jens Spahn (CDU) was the one who, on February 26th, proclaimed "no need" to advise Germans not to travel anywhere in connection with the epidemic. Ironically, in 2019, Spahn was in Africa as part of a project entitled "health knows no boundaries" which sought to improve health on that foreign continent.
Spahn supports Armin Laschet (CDU), who has scoffed at the preservation of German forestland yet has a deep concern for Israel, as evident from his opposition to the "boycott Israel movement". In terms of loyalties, perhaps we can compare this lot to Martin Schulz (SPD), a German politician who proudly proclaimed that "Germany exists only to secure the Israeli state and people." So, should we really be surprised to see that these politicians are not of the mindset to prioritize their own population's health and survival?
Perhaps we should not be surprised to see Europe handling COVID-19 much like it has handled Islamic terrorism - where every countermeasure cannot limit an ability to import cheap, foreign labor.
But then Italy's Guiseppe Conte was probably appointed to do just that and to obstruct the policy that puts the people he represents first.
Perhaps we are now dealing with the consequences: we have a society filled with Chinese illegal immigrants who have been producing leather goods in back-alley slums and appear to be the source from which the coronavirus spread to the population as a whole. But it would be misleading to say that the rest of the population is doing much better. It survives on welfare and unemployment because most jobs have been outsourced, which explains why the country is dependent on others for the hospital supplies and masks it is lacking. What a disaster.
Italian populist leader Matteo Salvini is calling for Conte to resign, insisting that people like him are not of the mindset to put Italy first. Maybe it is time for the welfare and safety of the national community to take priority over the promotion of damn-the-consequences globalism; that we even have to be having this conversation shows the extent to which the mind-virus has been spread from elected officials to the populace, which puts these servants into office. The antidote, it seems, is an unwavering, dedicated and passionate devotion to thinking critically and doing what is necessary to protecting one's own community.
