Decade 2020 - Humanity is our greatest strength

It has been a whirlwind of a year so far.  Fear of the amount of death has led to the lockdown of most of the world.  I was reading the article about the Virus that devastated the Roman empire through the Roman Army (https://medium.com/publishous/the-virus-that-crushed-the-roman-army-f6754a062062).  In it gives us one of the closes parallel to what is going on right now.

It was a contagion that spread fast and kills close to 10% of the population.  It spreads by close contact and usually spread by travellers to various towns and cities.  Difference between then and now is that we actually have the technology, the science and the knowhow to do something about it.

Trouble is what we can do about it also requires us to give up on some basic freedoms.  Such as freedom of privacy, freedom of movement, freedom of association.  We have to support those that are not as privileged as us.  Some western countries do not have public health care systems in place.  This means there will be many who won't seek medical attention, which simply hides the outbreaks and raises the death tolls.  They simply do not have the means to pay the simple doctor visit fee.  This issue isn't limited to some countries, it is same for many countries out there.

The virus also revealed a most troubling issue of inequality in modern society of North America and Europe.  However, it's not a problem rooted only in North America or Europe.  It's a human problem.  We are afraid of those different than us.  It's what helped us survive when we had to survive.  However, as we became more educated, we still have not lost those basic instincts of protection from the unknown.  

Unfortunately our way to manage this instinct is to shun those different from us, relegate them to the gutters of society.  Some places around the world even had a whole hierarchical system to do this.  For example (https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/the-most-disgusting-tax-ever-imposed-on-any-woman-in-history-9162fdf50a8b).

Racism is unfortunately ingrained in all of us.  However, it is not there because we want to be or choose to be racist.  It is there because we are wired to survive.  Anything different from us is a threat to our lives in some way or another for a survivor.  

So what, is that an excuse to allow racism to continue?  No way.  All I am trying to show is that understanding the weaknesses of others and showing them a better way (without judging them) is the way we need to move forward.  Until you know a person, all you know about them is how they look.  It isn't the way it should be, but what can you truly do about that?  What we can do is listen to each other, and take leaps of faith.  Trust begins with leaps of faith, because you do not know that person.

I have heard about happy marriages lasting 60, 70, 80 years.  Does anyone talk about unhappy ones that last that long?  What about the ones that fail long before that?  Does that mean that person is unhappy for the rest of his/her life?  Honestly speaking the answers to all of those questions are different per person.  That is the whole point isn't it?  We are all different.  Willingness to understand, listen and be kind to each other.  Take leaps of faith, that leads to trust, that leads to friendship, that leads to family.

If the events of this year has taught us anything, is that we are forgetting this simple fact.  I am a believer of Monotheism, and the prime story of monotheism is that we are all decedents of Adam and Eve.  Are we willing to be like Able, or do we want to be like Cane (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cain_and_Abel)?  Able understood the pain of his brother and was willing to take the leap of faith and not fight his brother. 

His leap did not turn out well, but that's the whole point of the leap isn't it?  You take it knowing it may not produce your desired result, or does it?  Cane felt guilty after killing his own brother.  He repented.  Able gave his life to teach his brother the value of love and he succeed.

So guys, learn the lesson from Cane's mistake.  Be more understanding towards each other.  Take the leap of faith on them.  Give them chances to prove that they can do what is asked of them and more, and not dismiss them just because of their skin colour, attractiveness, gender, physical abilities (or lack of).  

Take the leap of faith as Able did.  Take the risk to allow a star to grow.  Look for the "diamond in the rough" as it were.  They are everywhere.  Honestly speaking on this Earth, all we have is each other, everything else will go away, what's valuable today won't be tomorrow, except for our humanity.  No virus can ever stop us if we have our humanity.

"We are way more powerful when we turn to each other and not on each other, when we celebrate our diversity… and together tear down the mighty walls of injustice."

Cynthia McKinney, American politician and activist (src: https://www.amnesty.ca/blog/15-inspiring-human-rights-quotes)