By David H Blah
It now the seventh month now since the first incident of Covid-19 surfaced. What once was a rumour of a terrible disease in a faraway land has now brought the world on its knees. On our knees, millions of us have been praying, for the safety of Doctors, Nurses and all frontline workers, for our Government and Scientists. Many heroes have emerged through the struggle, heroes whose actions encouraged us and even called us to join in the heroic endeavour within our local communities and spaces. There have also been situations where we see Covid-19 get the better of us. We prayed and spoke up for those who were on the receiving end- the migrants, the poor, the weak and the sick.
It is unfortunate to hear about the incidents of hospital workers being turned away by their community and also people being turned away from the hospitals. I don’t know the whole story and all the factors that led to such incidents, nor do I want to start a blame game. That is not my intention. As a counseling psychologist, I take this incident as an occasion to talk on certain aspects about us, as human beings and what influences and shapes the way we react and respond to the current situation and, being a huge fan of superheroes, I wish to present all this within the idea of the Heroic.
I want to begin with two interrelated observations. The first is there are some topics, such as death or illness that are not to be talked of, even though they are not “evil”. The second observation is that people think that when the times comes they will be able to act in the right manner or do the right thing. When they are put in a place where they need to act courageously, somehow they will be able to do it without preparing for it.
When these two are combined, things do not turn out the way they hope for. Firstly, because we have not talked about it, we are not prepared for it. By not entertaining the various possible situations that may happen with Covid-19, such as, “What happens when I get Covid19, or my kids do?” we are not giving ourselves the opportunity to shape our responses. Secondly, when we are in that situation, we won’t necessarily be doing the right thing but the thing that we have always been doing in similar situations in the past.
One may ask, why is this the case? Well it’s because of two things. Firstly, about 40-45% of our daily behaviours are habitual. That means, most of the time we behave and react in an automatic and “seemingly unconscious” way. Secondly, the reactions that these situations elicit and the emotions attached to them have a strong influence on our Behaviour. The survival instinct, with its accompanying emotion – fear, is necessary and a natural instinct but it can also be counter-productive and when it has not been properly formed and shaped, will result in the very opposite. This is not a new thing. Horror or killer movies are full of side-actors who try to save themselves but actually make silly decisions that lead them to the hands of the enemy. What is crucial for us to note is that our initial reactions shape our subsequent thinking and thus also influence our morals.
The way out of this is to firstly understand the difference between Reacting and Responding to a situation. These two can fall in line with each other, but they can also fall separately from each other. An example of the latter is that there are numerous occasions when we have asked ourselves – “Why did I react in that way? I could have responded better.” Secondly, we can shape the way we react by forming our Responses. As we do this, we need to remember that our initial reaction, be it thoughts, emotions or actions, may not be the best or most suitable.
We need to talk about values and morals and the desired ends of our life as individuals. “What kind of life do I want to live? What kind of person do I want to be? How do I want others to treat and respond to me and my family?” It is worth noting that when we do this, we usually take the side of the one defending and protecting, the one who is still safe from danger. We also need to take the side of those who are already in danger, or who may be perceived by others as being in danger. After this, we need to train our responses by imagining various situations in our heads. We need to talk about it with others and try to practice the response that is based on our values so that we will be prepared when the situation comes. N.T. Wright, explains it like this [paraphrasing him], ‘Courage is not born for a single BIG action, but a series of consequent small courageous decisions, so that when the BIG time comes, you will naturally act courageously because it has become second nature to you’. Every hero has a back story where he/she undergoes a period of training, a period of forming his/her skills and his/her identity. It is because of this “training period” that they are able to instinctively act in such a heroic manner.
Moving from the personal to the social, I want to briefly highlight how a heroic community might look like. I think that when we make decisions, it never takes place just between the person and the situation. It is within social relationships that ethical norms are manifested, prioritized and must be discussed. Such situations are complex and it is never a case of Black and White and I do not seek to offer any ethical suggestion to solve the mystery! What I am interested in is the kind of community that will be able to act in a heroic manner and be able to integrate and heal itself when a part of it is shattered or wounded.
There are two immediate reactions that may drive people to subsequent actions and usually to sustained action along that particular manner. They are the Survival Instinct and the Moralization Instinct. Steven Pinker writes that “Moralization is a psychological state that can be turned on and off like a switch, and when it is on, a distinctive mind-set commandeers our thinking.” Moralization makes people think that rules are universals- “It is never Okay to Lie”, and that people who break them must be punished. It creates a black and white picture of a complex world and creates splits and fissures rather than bridges.
As stated earlier with regards to the survival instinct, people’s moral sense is crucial and natural, but when our mature moral sensibility gets overtaken by this “moralization”, to the on-lookers who have not turned on their moralization switch, we will look foolish or childish as we try to tackle a complex situation.
An alternative way of responding is one that is characterized by Bridges that open communication and companionship between different parts of the community, especially those that are on the “Other” side. Ladders helps us reach the top, bridges helps us reach each other. It is within the spaces that Bridges create for us that we can form our community’s responses, and in turn our community’s reaction. This is where we can heal and grow. When we watch the movie Avengers, we see them fight each other, then work together to defeat the enemy. Anyone can fight with one another, but we need a relationship if we want to settle our differences and work together.
As we form our responses, at an individual and community level, we need to keep on educating ourselves by reading about Covid-19 so that we can dispel unfounded fears and keep on fighting against stigmatizing people associated with it. As we are shaped by our Values, let Information inform our Decisions and Reason shape our Emotions so that we will be able to come out of this successfully. Pomlakrai Village is an example of how a heroic community responded to the situation.
(The writer is Assistant Professor Department of Psychology Martin Luther Christian University. Email: [email protected])