Idiocy In the Time of Coronavirus

By Janus Christos

When will it all end? How long before we can walk our dogs, without asking the government's permission? When will we be able to dye our hair, now that all salons are closed? When will the S&P reach 3,500? All these questions will not be answered here. Instead, more will be asked.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781678041205

Book preview

Idiocy In the Time of Coronavirus

Idiocy In the Time of Coronavirus

Preface

Idiocy: Comes from the word Idiot which comes from the Greek word Idiotis, which means a private man, one who does not participate in public duties. According to the ancient Greeks, participation in public duties formed the core of the democratic city-state and was an integral part of civil life. An idiot, therefore, is one who is stupid enough to ignore the common good and prioritize his or her self-interest, not realizing the synergy of a united society, therefore, one who lacks intelligence, is short-sighted and selfish. But don’t believe any etymological analysis you’re being told. That explanation just served my purpose right: to find a connection between a strong title and the contents of this essay.

This is a short story. A small book, a bedtime tale. It is funny, and sad. Mostly sad. Because it is true. At least I think it is true. In any case, because truth has many angles, I try to provide the references on most information I use. My opinion? Of course I provide that too. Not interested? Well, then just focus on the facts, and judge for yourself. This is not a lengthy story, just a short one of how I, Janus Christo, my alias, for reasons that will later become obvious, have experienced the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (1), which caused the complete break up of societies, economies and human behavior.

The last statement above might sound prophetic, but in case I am wrong, I am also writing another short book, in which I foresee that society will return to its normal idiocy a few weeks later, the stock markets will reach new highs and our leaders will be once again proud of the way they handled the crisis. And we will feel the same pride, on their behalf. And life will go on as normal.

One of those prophecies will surely come true. That’s how prophets hedge themselves.

The Humble Beginning

But before we wander into the future, let’s take the story from its humble beginnings.

The first reported incident dates back in November 17th, a 55-year old from Hubei province in China (2). On that date, a national holiday in my country to celebrate the resistance of our people to a seven year dictatorship run by a below–than-average-IQ group of colonels, the whole world was preparing for the Christmas holidays. Parenthesis: as is usually the case, it takes a below average IQ to control a whole country, which is probably a reflection of why group IQ is usually less than its individual components, a phenomenon widely known as …, there is no such word, only the opposite of synergy. That is also relevant to our story.

While the world was shopping for Christmas, or at least the ones that celebrate it, or at least the ones who have all other problems solved and can only look forward to Christmas trees, hordes of presents and