As a scientist and writer, I’ve
spent the better part of my working life studying and writing about illnesses.
In fact, these days we’re all well informed about physical ailments, and have
made great strides in understanding and treating diseases of the mind too. However, I believe we are now
being faced with yet another form of illness: societal disease. This has been
around for centuries, on and off, and it’s seeing a major recurrence – only
this time we have the chance to bring it out in the open.
I live in Britain but I can see
how societal disease is globally infectious.
When xenophobia and intolerance
become the institutionalised government stance, two bad things happen: one, the
powers that be are diverting away attention from the complex issues they’re
facing, which could be tractable if they used their reason and put in some good
old-fashioned work – something the British nation used to be proud of. Two,
scapegoating is becoming part of the public mindset and a way of life – looking
inwards to find solutions is just not the ‘done thing’ anymore. This gives free
rein to people to express their baser instincts with no guilty conscience.
The much-maligned migrants to
Britain will eventually find another destination. Those who are naïve or
misguided and keep coming will have to face the reality of living in a society
infected with hostility. Their numbers will eventually dwindle and the public eye
will register this as achieving the desired trend in statistics, while private
dramas will remain private as ‘befits’ minorities.
Those in power, on the other
hand, are hard at work creating consequences for their very own British people
– for they will be the eventual loser of this battle. As a result of the
decisions made now, an entire generation of young Brits will grow up in an
increasingly anachronic, truly insular, unhealthy society. Who knows, they may
even become re-acquainted with the term ‘eugenics’ – which, although originated
in America, was well received in Europe at the time.
I, like everyone else, have
witnessed how the society has turned its values against itself, waging war from
the inside. With no Cold War to keep the fear levels up, and the wounds of the
recent Depression finally healed, it seems politicians are keen to let no good
crisis go to waste …
Essentially, the current
political climate is feeding a societal auto-immune reaction – but those in
power may not have the clarity of mind to see it for what it is. As medics
know, these illnesses have a fast progression and a poor prognosis. We need
people who have trained their minds and kept their hearts in the right place to
start calling things by their true name – not casting judgment but seeking to
understand and heal. With rational thinking and well thought-out plans, there
are ways to minimise the damage. But if, instead, we choose to look at the
patient’s accent, we may just start to feel okay about letting them suffer, and
turn our impotence into a virtue.
