Have you thought at what time in history – present actually – this virus has spread throughout the world? Well, at an ideal time.
The vaccine isn’t here yet. It will take time. Best case: summer 2021. So, you have to wait.
You always cried for family time, right? So here it is!
Fasten your seatbelt. Because you aren’t going anywhere. And you won’t be able to. By the time it ends, you will have eaten up the loads of stored food and your belly would be swollen and your knees won’t be able to bear a hippo, you big fat f…
“THINGS YOU OWN END UP OWNING YOU.”
When a virus attacks, your body fights. This earth – motherland – was consistently being attacked by us, so it has retaliated. Perhaps it’s my illusionary-pessimistic-self talking. But anyway, considering your family life constant, it feels good. Doesn’t it?
When the patient starts to recover, it feels good. The mother earth is recovering. AQI index of ugliest cities are at par with cleanest cities around the world. The air we are breathing now wasn’t available for over two decades.
Petrol consumption is at its lowest. As is water consumption due to closed industries.
Other than that, crime rate has plummeted globally. How many kids have been saved from potential rape and murder incidents?
There is no war at the moment. Unbelievable, isn’t it?
All the missiles and tanks and jets are waiting for another man-made crisis. But this isn’t a man-made crisis. They aren’t needed now. They’ll be needed when duffers will reign again. And they will. Because insects are immune to…
You know this was – is – the ideal time for a novel epidemic. This is the only planet we own and look what we did to her.
We filled the waters with plastics and crude products. And dead bodies. Millions of dead bodies who became homeless in their homes and drowned while trying to find another home. Finding Neverland.
We even threw Luca Brasi and Bin Laden into the waters.
We destroyed the jungles. We established industries for mass consumption – including animals. We made leather from snakes and crocodiles.
We advertised brands made by hungry hands. We gave them enough to be steady but not enough to stand. We treated those hands in Africa and Asia as cows of dairy industry.
Class. Creed. Sect. Race. Religion. Nationality. We compartmentalized all the lower classes.
Meanwhile, the elite remained classless. Sitting in luxury offices finalizing bail-out packages for people wining and dining in yachts and mansions. Classless. People of the mosque, temple and church; all equal in the eyes of wealth.
Karl Marx said religion is an anti-depressant for struggling class. And he said it was necessary. Anti-depressants are necessary. Aren’t they?
So the virus is here. It was needed. It was time. Every era has to end.
Kingdoms ended. Colonialism perished. Fascism and totalitarianism jolted the world in world wars but were ceased after millions died. An era of liberalism emerged. The liberal half of the world saw its epitome of research and development in those years. While the other half kept on suffering at the hands of conservatism and religion-based politics. Then came the new wars. Wars based on information to target people and regions precisely.
It started with Iraq. Entered Afghanistan. Splashed countries like Libya, Syria and Yemen. Pimps suffered too: Pakistan lost its strategic position and Saudia lost its regional control. China initiated a surveillance war on Uighur. Burma did ethnic cleansing boldly, that too under a Noble Peace Laureate. India committed crimes legally, by passing vicious laws. Boris, Modi, Trump, Bolsonaro, Khan. Do you see there is something common all across the political world?
POPULISM.
Say what the crowd wants to hear.
Do what the crowd wants done.
Be it stupid. Be it cruel.
So, the virus came. It was long due.
Ah! I knew you would say that. ‘People will be jobless’. ‘There will be shortage of food’. ‘People will die’. ‘Blah blah’.
Yes. But, no.
That was all happening before. People were jobless before. There was shortage of food before. People died before. You just ignored all of it.
The only difference is, you will be jobless this time. You will face shortage of food. You will die.
But God forbid. Let’s hope for the best. We all need an anti-depressant.
Let me tell you, a new era is going to begin. Populism will go down organically. The generations eye-witnessing the current scenario, will not be conservative or orthodox as before. Countries will re-prioritize their future budgets. Science will have its due share as will healthcare. Religion will become a personal matter – as it should be – for some time to come.
And war. These tanks and missiles and jets. These decorated soldiers and their synchronized parades for emotional wellbeing of the crowd.
Well, behave yourself.