COVID-19: are there lessons?

Excerpt

COVID-19 has wreaked ghoulish devastation on not only health but also on economic, social and political fronts. Even though we are in the midst of the rampaging pandemic, with no green shoots of control or regression, it behoves us all to take a peep into the past with a view to seeking lessons for the future. George Bernard Shaw once said, ‘History teaches us, that history teaches us nothing’. Genius as he was, Shaw was clouded in judgement on this issue and stands suitably chastised by Prof. J. Cunningham: ‘In order to understand, where we are now and where we are going, we must first understand, where we have been’. Though both the stalwarts spoke on different issues, their musings are probably nowhere better applicable than to the curse of COVID-19. Just as dreams of tomorrow must start with learning from the past, our future responses to the current pandemic and for that matter, to any, and many more to come, must be based on a perspective of the past and the lessons learnt thereof. The past in that sense should be a ‘Friend, Philosopher and Guide’ to all of us. Alas, it’s easier said than done. …