The Inhuman Disease
The Wuhan virus is proving to be a most “inhuman” disease. All viruses are, of course, “inhuman”, or, rather, “subhuman”, which is probably the better term. I use the term “inhuman” here, however, because the virus is proving itself capable of stealing from us many of the customs and actions with which we express our humanity. The Wuhan virus itself, together with the measures needed to control its spread, is taking from us much of what we NEED to be human.
In the most basic sense, the virus robs its victims of the very air that they need to live. In severe cases, a savage pneumonia ensues and the victim’s lungs fill with fluid. Respiration then becomes impossible. In technologically advanced countries, support via artificial ventilation can save many (but not all) that have reached such a precarious state. In less developed countries many will simply die.
Aside from our basic biological needs, the virus robs us of much else.
We humans are, in essence, social beings. We NEED to socialize almost as much as we need food and water. This is why one of the most severe punishments that a penal system can impose upon a convict is solitary confinement. Without human companionship most humans suffer horribly; some may even become insane.
As the poet John Donne wrote many years ago:
“No man is an island, entire of itself… Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
For humans, socialization is not a luxury, it truly is a necessity. But now, the virus lurks among us in deadly secrecy. We must stay six feet or more away from all of our brethren. And even THAT might not be sufficient. We might need masks and gloves or avoid socializing entirely. We must not congregate. We must not celebrate. Against our instincts, we must pull away from one another and become the “islands” of which John Donne wrote. Text messages, emails, and even phone calls can only go so far. We NEED to be closer than that.
Humans also need touch. Words alone can fail us. Nothing can substitute for a gentle touch, a reassuring hug or a soft caress. Yet, these are now verboten. Studies done in the 50s and 60s showed that primates reared with out a mother’s touch remain distorted for life – nothing could be done to normalize them. Such it is for us, as well; without human touch WE become distorted or worse.
We humans need our communities of family and friends. The various levels of quarantine that have been instituted or are being considered threaten to separate friend from friend, family member from family member. Some circumstances might separate husband and wife, even mother and child.
We humans need to COMFORT love ones who are stricken. And those who are stricken need comfort from those who LOVE them. Hospital personnel, however sensitive and caring they may be, can’t provide the comfort and solace that a true loved one can. Victims may feel lost in a sea of indifference.
And, at the time of death, we humans need, perhaps like never before, love and companionship. As we prepare to enter the great unknown, we need to have the warm embrace of the love that we know in this life with us as we reach for the all encompassing love we hope will await us in the next. The fact that many Wuhan virus victims must face death without the love and companionship of true loved ones, is, perhaps, the deepest wound this virus can inflict.
And, last, most of us humans NEED to worship. Especially in times of disaster and calamity, we need to beseech our creator for deliverance, perhaps, or, if not that, then strength and forbearance. We need also to NEED to reaffirm our faith when it is most severely tested. Further, we NEED to gather strength from the shared faith of our fellow worshipers. Now, however, congregations of ten or more are, at the least, discouraged. The governors of some states, such as Virginia recently, have threatened to ARREST congregants that assemble in larger groups for worship.
In the face of all this, however, the doctors and nurses and pharmacists and healthcare workers, and police and military and transportation workers, and factory workers and farmers and grocers and delivery workers and postal workers and priests and religious workers and scientists and all of the people working to care for the sick, fight the virus and keep our country strong, will carry humanity’s torch in these trying times. Together, we will be victorious, and we will reclaim, in time, ALL of what makes us human.