- Conspiracy theories have all been disproved
By: Asmat Ullah Gondal
The covid-19 outbreak unleashed prodigious public discourse about its origin and transmission. Several themes of discussion surfaced during this period since its outbreak. Many people subscribed to a religious interpretation and believed it was divine rage at humanity for its unforgivable sins. Others labeled it as a man-made virus, used by global powers to further their hegemony.
For example, initially it was believed by many that it was a sagacious plan by the USA to reclaim its dying hegemony. The USA, allegedly, prepared the virus in laboratory and spread it to China to halt its economic growth; which is about to become world biggest economic power within a couple of years. Surprisingly, the Chinese Foreign Office also claimed that US soldiers served as a cause of the covid-19 outbreak. However, the indifferent and swift spread of the covid-19 pandemic across the globe neutralized these allegations.
A few weeks later, the USA brought a counter claim and held China responsible for the outbreak with the malicious intent of dragging down her economic growth. US President Donald Trump kept on calling it a Chinese virus in number of his press briefings. Two Chinese laboratories in Wuhan have come under the spotlight in this regard.
At a societal level in Pakistan there are different degrees and shades of conspiracy theorists. Many people believed that covid-19 is part of a Zionist agenda— to create the virus, in the first place, and then make vaccine to enrich them. Startlingly, a great deal of people turned a blind eye and deaf ears to the coronavirus pandemic and perceived it as just a mirage. In short, there are as many conspiracy theories as one can imagine. Although, time unfolds falsity of conspiracy theories and they disappear in oblivion, yet they continue unabated with mutations and take new forms and shades.
Maintaining lockdowns for a long period at the cost of many daily wage earners is not a final solution to the current pandemic crisis. Freezing economic activities may mitigate viral transmission for a particular time, but its spillover effects will reduce many to destitution with poverty and food shortage. If stupidity prevails it will not only endanger the lives of a large number of people by chain infections, but also sweep Pakistan into vortex of poverty & economic retrogression
On the contrary, science looks upon pandemics entirely from a different prism. Scientific theory goes through a long process of experiments before establishing a claim. Scientific theories are made after an empirical process. In the light of science, although the exact origin of viruses is uncertain, yet they have been part of nature since living cells first evolved. The universe is in a continuous process of creating viruses in multiple numbers since its beginning, and out of which many survive through the process of evolution. The origin of covid-19 is unraveled so far, but the majority of scientists are clear about the latter’s origin as a process of nature.
Scientists are unanimous in rejecting the claim that covid-19 is a laboratory-engineered virus. For example, US microbiologist Kristian Andersen along with his team refuted such claims and said that the genetic data shows no signs of previously existing viruses. Moreover, if we hopscotch through history, it is a crystal clear fact that pandemics have ravaged humanity at intermittent periods. Take, for example plague— the Black Death— which caused approximately 75-200 million deaths. Likewise, Spanish flu played havoc with human lives and caused 17 to 50 million deaths, according to an estimate. Hence, the history of pandemics categorically refutes infantile claim of covid-19 being a man-made virus.
Moreover, it is beyond the realm of doubt that for many decades human beings have been at war with the planet and, now planet is fighting back. The balance of nature theory holds that natural process remains in a state of equilibrium. When disequilibrium occurs, nature recaptures its original design by itself. Industrialization, urbanization and over-population have caused disequilibrium in the process of nature. Mankind has made environment unfriendly not just for himself, but also for other species— aquatic and subsoil. Global warming, famines, droughts, diseases and natural disasters of all kinds are the tools of nature to avenge and reclaim its original form. Human wit and sagacity subscribes to scientific wisdom and refutes unscientific claims eventually. In the light of this discussion wisdom demands that we should acknowledge that covid-19 is a reality and unsubscribe to conspiracy theories. We must nourish wisdom and starve stupidity & ignorance to save our lives from the scourge of this pandemic. There is no vaccine for covid-19 over the horizon. The World Health Organization has warned about a prolonged existence of covid-19 like AIDS.
In this given situation people must learn to live with this pandemic until its vaccine is invented. Moreover, as a responsible citizenry the rules ought to be obeyed to keep covid-19 at bay. People should adhere to principles of social distancing and abandon flouting them. There is no other way around so far than adopting precautionary measures as a lifestyle to constrict the coronavirus. Since the WHO’s clear message that we have to live with coronavirus; governments across the world have realized that a lockdown is not a workable solution to combat this pandemic.
Maintaining lockdowns for a long period at the cost of many daily wage earners is not a final solution to the current pandemic crisis. Freezing economic activities may mitigate viral transmission for a particular time, but its spillover effects will reduce many to destitution with poverty and food shortage. If stupidity prevails it will not only endanger the lives of a large number of people by chain infections, but also sweep Pakistan into vortex of poverty & economic retrogression.
The writer can be reached at [email protected] and tweets @asmatgondal
