Homo post-quarantine, or What is Christianity flowing through the veins
Homo post-quarantine is an integral part of today's reality, and even those who are not that type may be interested in his collective portrait.
I must say right away that I do not belong to those people who believe that after the pandemic the world will not be the same. It should be admitted that the coronavirus pandemic has not brought and is unlikely to bring any global changes in the future. People, however, have changed somewhat, but here, as Venedikt Yerofeev put it, “everything is different, but the same”. That is, changes in people, of course, are obvious and these changes are significant, but it is already clear that they are not forever.
And, nevertheless, we will have to live side by side for some time with such a person who has changed under the influence of the pandemic. Meet in the morning on the staircase, travel on public transport, stand in queues, pass in the parking lot, share an office ...
Homo post-quarantine is an integral part of today's reality, and even those who are not that type may be interested in his collective portrait.
So, first of all, Homo post-quarantine is extremely suggestible. We all remember well the information campaign that accompanied the quarantine measures. It had a simple and understandable aim – to inform the population about the new infection, its danger and measures to prevent its spread. Most people understood everything correctly, but there were many people who, in their efforts to take all the precautions, reached the point of absurdity, rudeness, aggression and almost paranoia!
For example, the abundance of Internet jokes about people driving their own cars in masks and gloves did not in any way affect the number of these overly cautious people. Another case is wearing masks in public. There are still guards on duty at the entrance to the shopping centres, reminding visitors about the mask mode. In shops, the same task is assigned to the salesperson. However, even the instructions can be followed in different ways.
Most people understood everything correctly, but there were many people who, in their efforts to take all the precautions, reached the point of absurdity, rudeness, aggression and almost paranoia!
Personally, I once witnessed the following outrageous picture: a customer without a mask comes to the checkout in a supermarket, and the girl-seller ignores him. She simply silently ignores a living person, as if there were nobody in front of her. And this continues until the buyer realizes to put on a mask. By the way, here's another sign of Homo post-quarantine – he/she probably won't find anything reprehensible in the act of the rude girl.
And how many hysterics due to non-observance of the distance, no gloves or mask, an accidental touch or cough in a public place almost everybody has witnessed not once! It is indicative that when such hysteria is accidentally filmed on video and posted on the internet, we may frequently read in the comments to such videos: "people can also be understood", "people on the verge"...
In other words, things that are at least reprehensible or even ridiculed in normal society can be "understood" during a pandemic. It is also possible to "go off" in a crowded place, and even if one “lost nerve" – this too must be understood ... But the fact that those who can "go off", get hysterical or just fail to control emotions in public should either take special medication or regularly visit a specialist in the field has somehow been forgotten.
Why was it then surprising when hysterics were replaced by acts of violence against those who were not wearing a mask, and the prospect of evacuees from China arriving in the country caused a wave of cynical protests that united everyone for whom their own safety has become the meaning of life? And that is perhaps the scariest thing about the post-quarantine man.
Even the slightest, rather illusory than real fear for one's own life and safety can move him to anything: meanness, cruelty, uncontrolled anger, etc.
As it turned out, Homo post-quarantine is pathologically faint-hearted. Even the slightest, rather illusory than real fear for his own life and safety can move him to anything: meanness, cruelty, uncontrollable anger, etc. However, this is only half the trouble.
Man is a weak creature, and no one can say with certainty who and how will behave in each situation. But most of us are well aware that by being cowardly, chicken-hearted, refusing to help our neighbour, etc., we will surely awaken our conscience, which will make us feel ashamed of our own weakness as well, and will not agree to sin in the future. But a post-quarantine person's conscience seems to be sleeping soundly. I have never heard of remorse for cowardice, shame for fear or unwillingness to forgive their own weaknesses. The opposite is true: cowardice and fear must be understood and forgiven, and weaknesses must be respected. Because nothing is more natural than fighting for your own life, health and safety. "And her wisdom is justified by her children," (Matthew 11:19).
This is what the post-quarantine human is: easily suggestible, unable and perhaps unwilling to critically assess information, and therefore willingly believing everything he/she sees, reads and hears. Self-loving and selfish. Cowardly and weak, but also aggressive, easy to conflict, unrestrained and passionate. If we add to this the rare lack of conscience and the inability to consider anyone else's interests, we will have a complete picture, albeit an unpleasant one.
And now let us move on to the saddest part. Imagine that a serious tragedy could happen in the country. Not self-isolation for a month and a half but something really terrible like, for example, the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Do you remember how many people then, in 1986, made unprecedented sacrifices to keep the size and consequences of the disaster as small as possible? Do you think you can expect something like that from the post-quarantine man? Not even self-sacrifice, but at least a minimum of humanity? Or all those who did not allow to accommodate the evacuees in their area, threw their fists at a neighbour who did not wear a mask, stockpiled buckwheat and toilet paper, or just sat at home in fear, mongering panic on the Internet, will do as you can expect from them? Will they be the first to snap up protective equipment, to take up places in transport for evacuation, and to run away from danger? Will they be ready to push others and climb on their heads to safety, not pick up a fallen person, not dress the naked, not help the sick, not share water with the thirsty, not risk themselves for the sake of a child, an old man or someone's dog?
However, one should not lose faith in a person. After all, there have been and will always be different people among us. People who have not succumbed, who have not been affected by a post-quarantine syndrome, who have remained human despite everything.
Is it worth asking, though? Isn't the answer too obvious? Apparently, "it's not worth it," as Vysotsky said, "the subject and the theme are different".
However, one should not lose faith in a person. After all, there have been and will always be different people among us. People who have not succumbed, who have not been affected by a post-quarantine syndrome, who have remained human despite everything. Doctors who have not left their posts 24 hours a day, volunteers who have selflessly helped patients and their families. Just ordinary people who have had the courage not to give in to panic, not to sow fear around them, to be an example of fortitude, the strength of character and healthy optimism.
All these people are Christians. Even those who are not yet aware of it themselves. Their Christianity is in deeds and in life, full-flowing through their veins and giving life, nourishing their soul and heart. They have fulfilled the law of Christ. They will fulfill it again if trouble comes and again if it does not come. They are the ones who set a role model to follow in order to be fully cured of the post-quarantine syndrome, which, as it turned out, is far worse than the coronavirus.
