Lessons learned from the covid 19 pandemic

[Brunolem]

Besides having made us (unpaid) medical experts in a matter of months, what other lessons has the covid 19 pandemic taught us?

 

Here are some:

 

1. Western governments are inept

 

The numbers speak for themselves.

There is no need to search for complicated explanations, Western governments were caught with their pants down, and messed up badly when it came to dealing with the pandemic.

 

There are quite a few reasons for that:

- many Western governments have become frontmen for hidden, mostly financial, interests

- arrogance... they believed that throwing enough money at the problem would make it disappear...their "cure all solution" to all problems

- political fighting, with one side constantly trying to sabotage the efforts of the other side

 

2. Few people are able of critical thinking

 

A large part of the population blindly adopts the official narrative as its own, because in democracies officials don't lie, or make errors...or so they think, or rather, believe.

 

Things can become tense when these same people, convinced to hold the truth, decide to take matters in their own hands and enforce the edicts coming from above.

 

This leads to what is probably the most painful lesson...

 

3. Freedom of speech is disappearing

 

Those who shape the official narrative, as well as many of their followers, also hold control of most of the media, written, digital or other.

 

They tend to confuse their opinions with facts, and to ignore the facts contradicting these opinions.

 

They don't like dissent, but instead of engaging in a debate with their opponents, which they might lose for lack of solid arguments, they prefer to resort to censorship, using a prepackaged excuse, such as "conspiracy theory", to justify their actions.

 

They have declared themselves guardians of "the truth", like others have done in the past, with generally bad results for the population at large.

Edited August 13, 2020 by Brunolem

[Oliver Holzerfilled]

Fixed it.

"Besides having made us me an (unpaid) medical expert in a matter of months, what other lessons has the covid 19 pandemic taught us me?

[mstevens]

I think it's still too early to say what Covid has taught us and the lessons learned. In a couple of years I think the lessons learned will be clearer.

[dimitriv]

40 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

Western governments were caught with their pants down, and messed up badly when it came to dealing with the pandemic.

 

Would you have been better prepared if you had been part of such a government? You saw this coming and you were prepared for this situation?

 

Certainly mistakes have been made in my home country. But I am convinced they did their best.

 

 

Edited August 13, 2020 by dimitriv

[Boomer6969]

The only part of your post I can agree with is that in Covid, just as WWII, caught the western democracies with their pants down while the Germans were ready.

 

What's left of your post seems to indicate that you believe the World should be ruled by dictatorships.

[Brunolem]

14 minutes ago, Boomer6969 said:

 

What's left of your post seems to indicate that you believe the World should be ruled by dictatorships.

Only if you think that Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and many others are dictatorships...

 

It seems to me that the most authoritarian, and least efficient, measures were taken by so-called democratic regimes...

[Yinn]

52 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

1. Western governments are inept

 

The numbers speak for themselves.

There is no need to search for complicated explanations, Western governments were caught with their pants down, and messed up badly when it came to dealing with the pandemic.

 

Not all. 

eg New Zealand. Have very sensible Prime Minister. Quite lovely. Not speak rubbish.

 

Half the covid deaths in the world is Brazil, USA and UK. IMO this country’s Prime Minister/President is loons. Argue with doctors, bleach, promote drugs that not work.

 

In UK and Brazil the prime minister/president have Covid. 

Boris go to covid hospital, proud to shake EVERYONE hand. I interested know about how many die because he spread it. 

 

And Brazil guy do the same, no mask, shake hands. 

Idiots. Really.

 

 

 

 

 

Three idiots= 500,000+ will die. World economy terrible for long time. 

Which one the biggest idiot? Hmmm, not sure. 

Amazing guys.

[Brunolem]

26 minutes ago, dimitriv said:

 

Would you have been better prepared if you had been part of such a government? You saw this coming and you were prepared for this situation?

 

This is the usual mistake: conflating the subject and the author.

 

It's like if you said that one can't complain about a surgeon who just messed up an intervention, because one couldn't do better. 

 

I am not a government, not even a small part of one.

 

So there is no reason for me to do better than political leaders, no more than there are reasons for them to perform better than me in my (former) professional specialty.

 

 

[Brunolem]

8 minutes ago, Yinn said:

 

Half the covid deaths in the world is Brazil, USA and UK. IMO this country’s Prime Minister/President is loons. 

 

Don't forget India, France, Italy, Spain, Russia and others who didn't do much better...

[spiekerjozef]

Lessons learned?

People in general didn't learn anything. It's not only the governments.

What do they all do? As soon as possible start traveling again and spreading the virus all over again, 2nd wave, 3rd wave etc.

Is it so difficult to stay in the same city/village for more then 6 months?

 

 

[2 is 1]

Same bla bla bla over and over again! Only head line chance! 

[ChipButty]

I learn't how much money I have wasted in the bars over the last 20 years

[bkk6060]

It will totally change the US election I believe.

In January, it seemed Trump was a shoe in.  No Covid, stock markets at all time highs, no BLM issues.

Now, I think he is a dead duck mostly because of his incompetence being exposed.

It is easy to drop bombs on other countries, but critical thinking is a much different matter and he appears to have none of it.

[Antonymous]

I agree with all he OP's points. Lack of critical thinking is evident and sad. Loss of freedom of speech is by far the most dangerous outcome.

 

"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever."

George Orwell (1984).

 

Perhaps that should become "If you want a picture of the future, imagine a mask on a human face—for ever."

 

Spot the difference … and similarities. The quote from 1984 represents the way in which power has created humanity's oppression. 

[dimitriv]

5 hours ago, Brunolem said:

This is the usual mistake: conflating the subject and the author.

 

It's like if you said that one can't complain about a surgeon who just messed up an intervention, because one couldn't do better. 

 

I am not a government, not even a small part of one.

 

So there is no reason for me to do better than political leaders, no more than there are reasons for them to perform better than me in my (former) professional specialty.

 

 

 

A surgeon studied 10+ years to be a surgeon. You can expect that he does his job well.

 

No political leader studied to fight Covid virusses. It's something new for everybody. Nobody was prepared. The only thing you do is sitting behind your computer blaming people without having a solution yourself, and without being able to do it better yourself.

 

 

 

[Brunolem]

25 minutes ago, dimitriv said:

 

No political leader studied to fight Covid virusses. It's something new for everybody. Nobody was prepared. 

Nobody was prepared...and yet, some (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam...) got much better results than others (Western Europe, USA, Brazil...)...and yet the latter had more time to prepare than the former because they were hit by the virus later...

 

A (wanabee) leader is supposed to be ready to respond to a crisis, any crisis: virus, earthquake, volcanic eruption, foreign attack...

 

That's the point of being a leader, not only to run the day to day business and enjoy the perks, but to respond efficiently in the face of adversity.

 

This is probably why I am not a leader, and certainly why many shouldn't occupy their positions of leadership...

[dimitriv]

9 hours ago, Brunolem said:

Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam...) got much better results than others (Western Europe, USA, Brazil...)

 

2 different kind of viruses...  

 

9 hours ago, Brunolem said:

and yet the latter had more time to prepare than the former because they were hit by the virus later...

 

You can even say that the experiences of countries with the first type were misleading for countries who had to deal with the second type. I can even remember that at the beginning of this year it was clear that the virus was not transmissible from person to person.

 

 

[timendres]

One thing that was highlighted for me is cultural differences.

 

For example, when I mentioned to my friend in the US that I was, of course, wearing a face mask outside my townhouse, his response was "So, you caved in to peer pressure." A very US point of view. Whereas in Thailand, it would be viewed more as "being a team player". This subtle, but significant, difference, I believe, explains some part different outcomes.

 

Now that difference produces different results depending on the circumstance. The "individualism" of the US produces the likes of Steve Jobs. But in a pandemic, it is a handicap.

[utalkin2me]

I think it is clear at this point that governments across the world told citizens to stay inside and that this is quite serious. 

 

What actually happened was, the people bought into this planned overreaction, but at the op half points out, they bought into it much more than any government could predict, and all the sudden the mobs were ruling public opinion, news and politicians. It was clear when very logical, dissenting voices were deemed irresponsible by the public, and the now invariable "debunked" statements every time an accredited person makes a half way logical statement. 

 

At this point, every politician, news outlet and media are all regurgitating the opinions they know the mob wants to hear. It is total chaos, science has been thrown completely out the window.