Disease – body, mind, … society
What happens when a society perceives foreigners as a 'barbarian invasion'
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.
