What will remain?

A rose has sprung!

This is how a Christmas carol from the 16th century, which is still popular today, begins. China is, of course, much older than this song, not the People’s Republic, which is even younger than the Second Republic of Austria. But in this very People’s Republic, something else sprang up at our last Christmas. At least, that’s what I believe, because I find the animal market and the perhaps accidental jump onto a human customer very surprising, as this and other markets selling animals, including wild ones, have been around for a very long time, much longer than the People’s Republic.

I am not a believer in conspiracy theories, but I find it hard to believe that such a cheeky virus suddenly felt like picking a fight with a human being to see who was stronger, or simply because it was bored in the queue.

However, I do not believe that there was any intent involved here, even if there are some very adventurous ideas circulating on the internet. I assume it was sloppiness, or to put it in politically correct terms: human error. Everyone understands that, because humans are known to be a flawed system and have a right to make mistakes. The fact that humans also have an irrepressible desire for unpredictable risks is what makes them so likeable. They just want to play, and preferably with fire.

And what springs from them is so pretty, but we don’t know yet about the others, who will surely come to visit at some point. And then ‘it’ is so small, who can keep an eye on these little rascals all the time? Nobody can do that.

Okay, it’s actually forbidden to deal with them at all. But what does forbidden mean? Who hasn’t parked illegally or jumped the fare on the tram for two stops, let’s be honest? But that’s also forbidden.

It’s interesting how our behaviour is slowly changing. We see each other as fellow human beings again, no longer as competitors for food in the supermarket or as a nuisance on the pedestrian crossing. Actions of solidarity are literally springing up everywhere. Politicians and representatives of interest groups are suddenly in agreement, and even the usual know-it-all behaviour in front of the cameras has disappeared, or if it still occurs, it is only in homeopathic doses.

The virus will disappear again, but what will remain?

 

Vienna, 20 March 2020
Hans-Peter Lauenroth

?
I believe that self-irony and being able to laugh at oneself, but also questioning one's habits of thinking, are more important than always looking for quick answers. Under the heading “?”, I would like to raise questions on a topic, current or fundamental, as they come up, in a casual manner. Perhaps I can give some food for thought, even to myself. First, it will happen as a one-way street, later possibly with a reply button.