A Brief Metaphysics of a Pandemic

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Distress, panic, and outright hysteria offer profound insights into the human soul—revealing the essence of individual character as well as the psyche of entire cultures and civilizations. These situations expose moral and intellectual deficiencies and reflect the state of civic arrangements, political order, and constitutional designs.

It is a sobering spectacle to witness a hedonistic civilization, worn out and vain after decades of venerating money and material pleasures, confronted with a potentially deadly pandemic. In this moment, society becomes consumed with a trivial obsession with physical survival. Almost all politicians, medical experts, and advisors surrounding the U.S. President, as well as leaders in most European countries, focus exclusively on survival rates and the protection of lives at all costs. Nations like Sweden, which seem to maintain a more open societal approach, justify their actions by referencing liberal values and the right to self-determination. However, a deeper understanding of why the near-total shutdown of our societies—and the widespread submission to the virus—is problematic is, at best, lacking.

Interestingly, the much-maligned President Trump, while not articulating it philosophically, questions the very maxim that most are acting upon. While many are intent on saving lives and resisting any moves to reopen the country, Trump wisely points out that the cure must not be worse than the disease.

What sounds like a simple truism reveals profound philosophical wisdom: If any society elevates the value of physical survival to an absolute, they have declared moral bankruptcy and are on the path to ruin. Indeed, we must be willing to take risks and navigate the trade-off between physical survival and preserving our social and economic livelihoods. Trump, in this regard, grasps what many are unwilling to even consider.

Frank Dietrich, a philosopher at the University of Düsseldorf, captured it well (my translation): “If the crisis continues for an extended period and the economic turmoil reaches extreme levels, we must reconsider the primacy of saving lives.”

In other words, the young and healthy—those up to retirement age without serious medical conditions—must return to work and keep the nations functioning. While some may fall ill, and a few may even die, we cannot hide away until every trace of the virus has disappeared, a vaccine is found, and no one is at risk anymore.

Our societies must “man up” once again. We must remind ourselves of Plato’s concept of thymos—the spiritedness that lies within the human soul. Without this, neither individuals nor societies can survive in the long run. If we are no longer willing to risk our lives for each other, we are essentially enslaving ourselves. Looking back, we will feel ashamed of our cowardice.

It is crucial not to confuse or misinterpret this principle. Of course, all reasonable measures to preserve lives and protect people must be embraced. However, the preservation of life and physical survival should not become an absolute goal.

If nothing else, this crisis provides an opportunity to rediscover the dignity of human existence—reminding ourselves that life is about more than mere self-preservation or the fear of death. Ultimately, each of us—and, most importantly, our political leaders—will be judged based on this standard of self-respect and esteem.

It is time to emerge from our shelters and sanctuaries and face life once again.

COVID-19 Crisis Lays Bare Wicked Character of the Left

It is an adage of philosophical wisdom that crises and emergencies reveal both the worst and the best in humans. It brings out the finest in the good and the most awful in the bad.

Sadly, in times of a pandemic and a threat to all of humankind, the U.S.'s national political discourse proves this saying to be true. Those of us hoping that the COVID-19 crisis would unite us and help bridge the chasm of hate and destruction that has ever deepened in this country ever since Mr. Trump ran for office go through constant disappointment. The Democrats, the Fake News Media, throngs of prejudiced and mindless pundits, the majority of the ill-educated and deranged Hollywood celebrities (example par excellence Alec Baldwin) keep attacking and instrumentalizing the crisis for some gain in the November presidential elections. 

Disparaging and bringing down Trump is still the motto. Nothing has changed. As I have described it in previous blog entries, the destructiveness of the left, their intellectual and moral bankruptcy, even accelerates and reaches ever-increasing hysterical proportions. Yet, the left and their communication outlets don't care. They have already realized and count on it that a significant portion of the public has succumbed to the barrage of disinformation and distortion of recent years and abandoned their moral and rational judgment. Equally consumed by irreconcilable disdain for President Trump and his administration, they accept whatever nonsense Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer and their henchpeople at CNN, NBC, MSNBC, or the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, to name a few, put forward.

Not to be misunderstood. It is legitimate in an open society to engage vigorously in the struggle for political power and to prevail in elections. But only within the boundaries of mutual recognition and a minimum degree of honesty and truthfulness. From the beginning, the Trump-hating liberal crowd did not heed these limits. Very much to the contrary, they used innuendo, distortion, and fabrication of facts, outright lies, and personal attacks to attain their goals. No signs whatsoever that the Democrats and most establishment media – while promoting their ideas – intend to engage in loyal opposition work. 

After the unsuccessful and dishonest, painfully stupid, and unlawful impeachment attempt (compare my previous blog https://www.edwinseditorial.com/2020/01/when-breakdown-of-rationality-becomes. html), the COVID crisis is now about to be abused for another illicit effort to bring down President Trump before he reaches the November Elections. In which – unless colossal voter fraud takes place – he will be victorious against the probably weakest candidate the Democrats have had in a long time. The probably most loathsome individual among the Democrats, the vile and mendacious Adam Schiff, who drove the impeachment charade against the President, has already announced via Twitter – supported by Nancy Pelosi on TV – to establish a nonpartisan commission to review the country's coronavirus response. The partisan dishonesty of this man and the bulk of his party is so blatant that such a proposal is positively laughable. Everybody with the smallest amount of fair-mindedness left knows that this pathetic attempt would be nothing but to lay whatever blame – speculative and unsubstantiated as it may be – at the President's doorstep. 

 

On occasion, fortunately, a glimmer of decency emerges. It gives hope when presidential candidate Joe Biden after he accused Mr. Trump of xenophobia and racism about his travel ban on China and Europe, reverses his verdict and now acknowledges that it was the right thing to do. But such cases of honesty are rare. Unfortunately, the distortion of facts (i.e., the timeline of President Trump's response to the pandemic), the emphasis on selective information disapproving of the President and his Coronavirus Task Force (i.e., the misrepresentation of Mr. Trump's support for the off-label use of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychlorochine), and the push to make the crisis to appear much worse than it, in reality, is, dominate the public dialogue. 

Aside from bashing the President, the liberal left hampers any steps to support businesses and workers financially, instead of attempting to put ideological, not corona-related pork in the relief bills to promote their socialist agenda. Since a swift return to regular operation and a speedy economic recovery would help Mr. Trump regain the main achievement of his presidency's first three years, the left is bent on not letting that happen. There is no doubt that a health crisis is exploited for political reasons, even at the substantial detriment to the entire nation. 

No matter how many infections and deaths, no matter how the crisis will play out, we are in to continue the campaign to take down President Trump. Despite the awfulness of the preceding years, the dumbest and most reprehensible social and political discourse is yet to come.