Making sense of this

Last I checked, over 300K people across the world have tested positive for COVID19. Over 10,000 people have died. And just over 35 days ago, we were thinking Dow 30K and how the economy was doing great and the sky was the limit. Pandemics are not what most people prepare for. We dont know how to react to one. And this is something unlike what anyone has seen before.

Like many of you, I am still finding a way to make sense of all of this. I am sheltered in place at home and trying to get work done while also keeping tabs on latest guidelines. There is also a sense of frustration that not much can be done to help the situation- given how complex it is.

The over-arching story around this is messy. One country chose to suppress the information about a new strain of virus until it was too late. Another chose to not take test kits until they were left with no choice. And then there are states where Gen-Zs are flouting rules and heading to the beach, just because. It is messed up and reflective of how broken we are as a society. Undoubtedly there are some heroes doing epic work out there. But society should not rely on heroes. Heroes reflect a failure in the system to solve problems. Heroes are our last hope. Often heroes pay a steep price themselves for broader humanity when problems can and should be solved without a human toll. Many millions will lose their jobs and for many, life will take a long time to get back to normal, if ever.

There is no point or message to this post. I am just venting. I feel helpless and it feels like we aren't solving problems as we should, we are smarter and more intelligent than this. This crisis could have been avoided at many levels. The collateral damage to many for the political interests of a few feels like a bad trade anytime. This time especially.