Is Corona Pandemic a Boiling Frog Syndrome?
  • April 11th, 2020
For too long humans have been struggling with poverty, inequality, environmental degradation, conflicts and oppression of all kinds: race, class, gender, religion – to name a few. Why, now all of a sudden, the whole world is pouring attention on corona pandemic? What is the difference, then, between the corona crisis and the other ones? ​
The answer is rather obvious – urgency.  Which reminds me of the boiling frog syndrome:  If you put a frog in boiling water, it quickly jumps out and saves itself. If you place the same frog in normal water and slowly raise the temperature, the frog body will adjust to the rising heat – it becomes numb and will remain there until it dies! The difference is panic reaction vs gradual decay. Humanity’s other crises have been evolving slowly, albeit steadily, over decades and centuries. Plus, they have not threatened everyone equally – albeit, they have helped to create huge chasms of the haves and have nots around the planet.

The current pandemic has exposed serious fault lines in humanity’s consciousness and behavior towards its members. The poor of the world will suffer most from climate change, pandemics, wars, etc. Even in the developed countries the outcomes of corona treatments are disturbingly unequal.  In the US, for example, the death rate among the African Americans is alarmingly disproportionate to others.  This exposure of historical shortcomings presents an opportunity to mend them. Can we still ignore these global challenges until they reach a crisis point? The choices we make now could chart the future of our species and civilization. 

Here are some hard questions: Could the corona crisis become a catalyst for humanity to pay genuine attention to its other crises? Could it change the human consciousness towards the recognition of the oneness and solidarity of the human race?    

Why This Blog?​

As a child, I was raised with the teaching that “the World is but one country and mankind its citizens”.
This has given me a deep appreciation for seeing things globally and collectively — the big picture view - hence, I called my blog: The Big Picture.

I believe our education and cultures have conditioned us to see life in fragments: mine, yours, theirs. This has caused a collective mindset of separation and isolation with considerable cost – personal, social and material – leading to, among others, disconnection, loneliness, and anxiety.

​In this blog, I intend to raise serious questions about our collective life and destiny on this planet to create a forum for discussion about things that matter most.

Archives

Categories

Comments are closed

kambiz@maani.co.nz

ABOUT ME  |  SYSTEMS THINKING  |  WORKSHOPS / COURSES  |  BOOKS / MEDIA  |  BLOG

Web Design by SBWD