The last 9 months have made a skeptic of our scientific understanding and education. As the signs of coronavirus breakouts started late December ‘19, anyone with some basic understanding of airborne communicable diseases could predict where the virus could be in a couple of months. As it turns out, and as I jog my school days’ memory, my school taught me communicable diseases back in 6th grade. We all heard and know how the Flu spreads. Flushots are widely embraced, even to a point where it a natural part of your October activities irrespective of where you live in America. This knowledge seems elementary. Yet, the pandemic exposed public behavior I did not expect.

Why has it been such a nightmare to get this basic idea - “you crowd, you spread the virus” through to people? Young and old, illiterate and highly educated, politicians and even doctors. Navigating such situations in life & reacting to adversities with objective thought is the essence of scientific education. And this basic science of dealing with a rapidly transmitting disease is something we are all taught at a very young age. Doesn’t our response to Covid-19 very clearly show that that education failed, and failed miserably? I think it does.

I do understand the financial impact of isolation and closing businesses. And I am not advocating for a full strict shutdown or a complete stay-at-home restriction. Even discounting that and allowing business owners to operate as normal with some precautions is acceptable. However, what I cannot fathom is why is there a strong urge to hangout with your friends, organize group dinners, share a car with friends-of-friends despite the elevated risks. Is that small pleasure worth your friends & their families' lives? Is it worth your life? Why is it so hard to hold back a few months, now that even vaccines seem to be around the corner?

I have found no good explanation for this & am dumbfounded by how some of the most educated people I know, including healthcare professionals, around me are handling this.

First, come the idiotic politicians (especially some state governors in America) who refuse to lead and place guidelines to care for the very people they swore to serve. Let me be clear - there is absolutely no reason, financial or moral, to put something before the lives of people you need to serve. A complete unacknowledgement of science by leaders in such powerful positions only gives us a hint of what they seem to concern themselves with. And then there is the rhetoric of denial. State governers from ND, FL and TX have explicitly denied to issue simple public safety advisories, let alone stay-at-home orders. At the height of Thanksgiving mania during rising infection rates, the ND governor even tweeted about going shopping. Honestly, local goverments in countries like India where it is near impossible to manage people contact due to dense population have done a much better job. As uneducated as they might be, Indian politicians seem to have a good ear for public health scientists. Not only did they do a better job at leading, but they’ve shown higher regard for human lives - the very thing the west is hailed to do better.

I recently watched a public health advertisement issued by the german health ministry hailing couch potatoes as the heroes of Winter 2020. YES! THAT IS WHAT WE ALL NEED TO DO. REALLY! STAY HOME. Why is it so hard to comprehend this? Are we all just unimaginably ignorant? Or are we purposely wreckless?

I’m not fully compliant to staying home, I admit. Those runs, bike rides, hikes could have all waited. It is however important to preserve one’s sanity and be mentally healthy. Exercise helps achieve that. One could potentially argue that going to a bar or hanging out with friends has a similar effect mentally on someone else and hence deem it essential. I disagree. All evidence has pointed us one way - avoid gathering, avoid crowding. Hence such arguments simply make no sense. They essentially deny the most important conclusion drawn from scientific research. Just a couple of days ago, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 5-4 that religious services cannot be included in restrictive shutdown mandates issued by some sensible states. One of the justices assented: “liquor stores, bike shops can stay open, but churches, synagogues and mosques cannot? This is discrimination.” Discrimination against what you idiot? People don’t huddle in hundreds to sing aloud and disperse their virus carrying nasal droplets in a bike shop. The only problem here seem to be that the nation’s highest court’s justices being completely ignorant to any supporting scientific evidence.

How can we as humans make progress in right direction as guided by research, objective thinking and progress for the common well being when entities of such extreme power strike down ameliorating steps with such foolish arguments?

To be honest, this did not come to me as a surprise given what I’d experienced over the last 9 months. I am surrounded by doctors. My partner is one. So are her co-residents. Her mother. And a couple of my friends. The cavalier attitude I saw in them is what took me by surprise. Initially, there was offhand denial of any serious consequences early in January when the virus was rapidly beginning to spread. It took quite a while and a real, tangible death toll for that skepticism to disappear. Next, I saw an uncaring “it won’t affect me, I already take care” mindset which did not restrain them from wanting to hang out, visit each others homes, have hospital residency welcome gatherings. Even the residency program seemed to encourage it. I was shocked at the indifference which persisted until late Fall. Some even had plans to fly across the country to visit family for Thanksgiving. With rising rates and vaccines around the corner, the number of events have tempered. Better late than never I tell my partner. I had truly expected the medical community to rise up and lead. I was disappointed.

Why is momentary fulfillment valued over long term benefit? Yes, we as humans are irrational, erratic and emotional and most times there are no objective explanations for our actions. But, with the 21st century knowledge, virtual tools, it shouldn’t be that hard (at least for most with financial means) to hold off human contact. We seem to crave it, just like any other addiction and deny ourselves a chance to spend time with self. Experience boredom for just a bit. Experience self without distractions. What are we afraid of?