During the terrible times, which many human beings have endured for a long time, and of which the current crisis has made us aware, we need to relearn four forgotten feelings: gratitude, for those on the front line; empathy, for those who suffer; admiration, for those who find solutions; and altruism, to act in support of one another.
And in order to act, we must not allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by paralyzing fear, but rather we must move forward, with courage and lucidity, positively, building on the rare certainties that the entire situation has made us discover or rediscover.
This virus is only one, among others, that threatens us. To defeat it, win the battle and prepare to win the next one, here are ten provisional and positive lessons:
1. Humanity is threatened, once again, by an evil that has emerged from nature, but aggravated
by mankind. An evil that was once again predictable, but previous generations had not done enough to protect present generations from this evil.
2. Faced with this threat, as with so many others, the desires and lusts of the past can be
considered to be derisory.
3. Faced with this threat, as the case may be with many others, many people realize that nothing
is really worth more than the time you spend with your loved ones and the meaning you give to your life.
4. Other viruses or enemies, threaten and will threaten humanity: climate change, misery,
disorder. These enemies interact with present-day enemies to worsen the situation.
5. Faced with innumerable viruses, we must put ourselves definitively into a war economy and
devote ourselves only to the essentials.
6. The combatants in today’s battle, whether visible (healthcare professionals, police officers,
teachers, politicians, journalists, and so many others) or invisible, (garbage collectors, cashiers, vendors of fruit and vegetables, bread, newspapers, meat, as well as the delivery drivers, and so many others) are far more important for the survival of society than many other professions whose products and services have suddenly proven to be far less necessary to their customers of yore.
7. If, thanks to these fighters, remission comes, we must not forget, in the euphoria of regaining
the spring, the fears we harboured during what could have been a lost spring. We must not forget that the virus may return and that many other threats are still out there.
8. We must not be content to re-create, once again, the conditions leading to a return to the
same criminal model of society that led us to this war, which we can still lose. That we are even certain to lose if we do not learn from it.
9. To prevent these misfortunes from returning and ward off this virus as much as the next one,
we must finally admit that a society could function perfectly well and be happy by devoting well over half of its wealth-creating activities to the industries and services related to healthcare, food, hygiene, education, the environment and culture. And the related technologies that these industries require.
10. Finally, we must manage each country and the world, in a much more empathetic,
considerate and caring way, with concern for proximity, justice and human warmth. Similar to what are doing now, albeit a little bit and every now and then, in panic and under coercion of imminent harm.
It is only by irreversibly learning these lessons that we will be able to defeat this enemy, fight the next ones, and more generally, allow future generations to live; and if possible, to live better than us.
j@attali.com