2020, Upheaval and Large Scale Lessons

 The start to this new decade has certainly served up some serious challenges, particularly here in Australia. With a bit of distance from the trauma of the bush-fires and the subsequent  loss of human life, an estimated billion animals and indeed whole ecosystems, I feel better able to offer some perspective that might be of assistance. This is also important given we are now being rocked by the threat of  the Covid-19 virus pandemic.
  I see similarities, however, in the lessons these major events are bringing to the surface. Firstly both the climate change and the pandemic are issues that can only be dealt with if the world works together. This tiny little virus is showing that we are all linked - borders mean nothing, nationality, religion, wealth mean nothing. We are all part of a great big global village and the actions (and inaction) of each country impacts on all others. Also in any village, big or small, we need the sharing not hoarding of resources - be it knowledge, compassion or toilet paper.
   These big events are not about globalisation in terms of global markets - which are currently collapsing on computer screens and taking up a lot of the conversation in the media. They are about community and connection. I was struck by how nearly every person interviewed after the deadly fires had ripped through their homes, commented on what a great community they lived in and how everyone was there for each other. Then of course there was the commitment of the volunteers giving up time, money and personal safety to protect homes, towns and landscapes.
  Now, with the Covid-19 virus, front-line in protecting and helping impacted communities around the world will be the ‘empathy’ professions - doctors plus the generally not well paid paramedics and nurses - working in medical settings which are often under-funded by governments (UK & Ireland for instance) or privatized beyond the reach of large parts of the population (eg USA). Will we now begin to understand that care and compassion are much more important commodities than any found on the stock exchange? That the markers of a nation's success are not bankers’ bonuses and big business success, but rather its ability to provide healthcare and ongoing safety for its people.
  Finally perhaps this is also the beginning of the swing back towards listening to expertise and not our FaceBook feed. We need calm and rational, evidence-based discourse, not opinion and rumour replacing facts. We will maybe also recognise the need to demand of those in positions of power, be it politics, media or business, that we be able to trust them with the truth and trust them with our future.