Community
A note before I get into this - I worry that I can come across as having a 'holier than thou' attitude or seeming hell-bent on self-promotion in my writing. I don't want that to be the case, I am by no means perfect and I'm an incredibly flawed individual, prone to making mistakes as much as anyone. I just want to make sure I put that out there now. I hope you enjoy reading 😊
COVID-19 has shown me the worst side of humanity. The side that's individualistic, buying up all the supplies in supermarkets so that the elderly and vulnerable can't get what they need to survive. The side that's prone to panic, making completely irrational decisions without stopping to listen and think for a second.
However, you can't have darkness without the light, and I've also seen the best of people. As part of the response to the pandemic, some of my local community have come together to co-operate and be there for the people who really need help right now. I'm lucky enough to be young, able-bodied and healthy, but there's plenty of people in my area and around the world who find themselves disadvantaged at times like this. So we've come together to offer to buy shopping for those who are self-isolating, or who have to shield due to being at high-risk. We've started a food bank to provide parcels to those who need help, and we've been calling people to keep them company at a time where we're all having to learn to live in relative isolation.
I can't take credit for organising the response by any means - that honour goes to others who quickly realised that there were people being left to struggle in this crisis, and that that wasn't acceptable for them to have to deal with. I signed up to help after my friend suggested that it would be something good for us to do seeing as we were sticking around at university whilst most of our friends went back home. And I'm so glad I did, because it's such a rewarding experience to be able to have. In the modern world we live in, it's all too easy to stop talking to people; to be more connected than ever and yet simultaneously distant and isolated; to fall into the trap of second-guessing who you do or don't want to talk to based on some prejudice or belief. Instead, I've been exposed to having conversations with the people I come across, whoever they are. I've spoken to elderly people who haven't seen anyone in a few days and are just happy for the company, parents in the queue at the supermarket finally able to pick up the essentials, key workers exhausted but determined to do good for society.
It's far too easy these days to be pessimistic about humanity and society. Through the last few years, I've increasingly written humanity off as prone to making mistakes and misguided decisions and hurting people unnecessarily, and there are definitely those out there who fit those criteria. But there's just as many - if not more - who are very different. Who care about each other, and our planet, and trying to help as many as possible. In 1987, Margaret Thatcher said 'There's no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are families.' I think she was wrong then, and she's wrong now. Society is alive and well, and we're part of something much bigger than ourselves and our families. We're part of a community, and contrary to belief, community isn't dead yet.
COVID-19 has shown me the worst side of humanity. The side that's individualistic, buying up all the supplies in supermarkets so that the elderly and vulnerable can't get what they need to survive. The side that's prone to panic, making completely irrational decisions without stopping to listen and think for a second.
However, you can't have darkness without the light, and I've also seen the best of people. As part of the response to the pandemic, some of my local community have come together to co-operate and be there for the people who really need help right now. I'm lucky enough to be young, able-bodied and healthy, but there's plenty of people in my area and around the world who find themselves disadvantaged at times like this. So we've come together to offer to buy shopping for those who are self-isolating, or who have to shield due to being at high-risk. We've started a food bank to provide parcels to those who need help, and we've been calling people to keep them company at a time where we're all having to learn to live in relative isolation.
I can't take credit for organising the response by any means - that honour goes to others who quickly realised that there were people being left to struggle in this crisis, and that that wasn't acceptable for them to have to deal with. I signed up to help after my friend suggested that it would be something good for us to do seeing as we were sticking around at university whilst most of our friends went back home. And I'm so glad I did, because it's such a rewarding experience to be able to have. In the modern world we live in, it's all too easy to stop talking to people; to be more connected than ever and yet simultaneously distant and isolated; to fall into the trap of second-guessing who you do or don't want to talk to based on some prejudice or belief. Instead, I've been exposed to having conversations with the people I come across, whoever they are. I've spoken to elderly people who haven't seen anyone in a few days and are just happy for the company, parents in the queue at the supermarket finally able to pick up the essentials, key workers exhausted but determined to do good for society.
It's far too easy these days to be pessimistic about humanity and society. Through the last few years, I've increasingly written humanity off as prone to making mistakes and misguided decisions and hurting people unnecessarily, and there are definitely those out there who fit those criteria. But there's just as many - if not more - who are very different. Who care about each other, and our planet, and trying to help as many as possible. In 1987, Margaret Thatcher said 'There's no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are families.' I think she was wrong then, and she's wrong now. Society is alive and well, and we're part of something much bigger than ourselves and our families. We're part of a community, and contrary to belief, community isn't dead yet.
Comments
Post a Comment