Lockdown and Social Responsibility of the People

Lockdown and Social Responsibility of the People

COVID-19 is a global pandemic that has engulfed every aspects of the world. In other words, it is a state of health emergency that has shattered the entire world even the powerful developed nations. The whole world is united to fight against the deadly virus that is invisible enemy. Every governments of the world are following complete lockdown, so that world again comes in to its order.

Government alone can’t manage the situation unless citizens cooperate. But people are just in search of opportunity to break the lockdown norms as if they are kept in cage for long. Some even treat this lockdown as vacation or holidays. No doubt poor labourers are striving but their sufferings may be dealt with effective and constructive “crisis management measures” by affluent society of urban middle class and bourgeoisie or capitalists. If society is in crisis, affluent section may come forward and take active part in government’s action of tackling the crisis situation. Critics seem enjoys the government’s hardship in managing crisis and just acts as spectator of the crisis. In country like India, gap between rich-poor has widened only because of the rich’s maintenance of quality of life at the cost of either poor’s hard physical labour or natural sources of livelihood.

Social responsibility is to maintain physical distance and so social distance, in the sense of avoiding gatherings and collective activities. But unfortunately, people don’t even refrain from creating risk in their own health and life, for getting some amount of vegetable, fish and others to satisfy their voracious appetite. I have observed that people shows their extreme reckless social action if they get the glimpse of fish vendor or vegetable vendor. If you consider it as their behaviour like natural objects or matter, then what the external stimulus is; it is gluttonous appetite. These people can’t use their conscience at this moment just grapple in the competition of buyers to get commodity.

Some are indulged in spreading negativity at social media platforms. Some are even become mad in expressing their religiosity; they may not have even care for worship or prayer regularly. But they are busy in finding loops in government regulations for public duty and responsibilities. Blame game is another fatuous act that shows complete insanity among few people in social media.

Understand the rights of nature:

Nature has every right to survive with good health. Human being is extremely disastrous of nature, which is providing them home and environment to live in. It is such an inconsiderate attitude of humans towards nature, as if they got eternal and divine right to exploit entire nature. There are large numbers of beings apart from human in this universe, but avaricious humans hardly recognize or regard the existence of other creatures. It is the ego of human and often proves their superiority by destroying innocent ecology.

In this lockdown period, we shall immerse ourselves in understanding the serenity of magnificent nature. Nature without human intervention that made vicious rupture throughout times looks so innocent and splendid in lockdown period. We should learn how to nurture the nature that by default under our manipulative control. If environmental concern develops in our consciousness during the lockdown, activity in post-lockdown time may get reformed ecologically.  Ecology may revive again with vigorous strength.

Article is written by M Hasan Laskar, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Sociology, University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya. He is an author and also the founder of You Tube channel “Sociology for Life”. He is also the editor of this Blog “Sociology Blog”.

It is the writer’s own view point developed from his observation and thinking.