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A Crisis brings out the worst and best in people.
By Melson Chun
The global outbreak of SARS, the acronym for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome saw people from other countries spanning across the globe reacting in a myriad of ways. While Singapore was busy issuing declaration forms and conducting mass health checks in every organization and institution in the island in her bid to minimize the detrimental effects of the deadly disease, there were some black sheep in her midst who chose to break home quarantine orders (HQO) and be truthful about their health conditions. Ever since the epidemic broke out in Singapore in mid-March, there have been vast differences in the way Singaporeans’ have reacted to the situation. Thankfully, the majority has been heeding the advice of the government and has been acting socially responsible, lest for a few. How is it possible for the same event to result in reactions of such great contrast? The answer lies in the very fact that people being individuals react differently to a crisis in individual ways. A crisis can bring out both the best and worst in people. The US-led Iraqi war that recently ended, like the outbreak of SARS, saw a mixture of responses from the Iraqis themselves and people from different countries. Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s magnificent palaces which were once places in the figment of the Iraqis imaginations come to live when they were raided by the US coalition forces. The Iraqis displayed the ugly side of human nature, succumbing to their overwhelming excitement and weakness for materialistic objects, by looting the raided palaces. Thousands of Iraqis making away with Saddam Hussein’s fortunes were captured on video footages. Apparently, the people seemed to have forgotten about the more pressing issues their country was facing such as the need to restructure politically and rebuild their war-torn economy and infrastructure. The crisis they had just undergone left them too preoccupied with stocking up on `goodies’ and `freebies’ `benevolently showered upon them by Saddam Hussein’. On the other hand, the
United Nations and the USA began making plans to slowly rebuild Iraq, taking the baby step of meeting the people’s basic needs of food and medical aid by distributing free food and medicines. Plans to stop Iraq’s oil resources to refurbish its economy are underway now. Thus, this example clearly illustraties how a crisis can bring out the worst and best in people. War is not the only crisis that can bring out the worst and best in people. Other forms of crisis such as the discovery that a member in the family has a terminal or chronic illness, also largely determines and inevitably forces out the best and worst in the members of the family. Very often, people are pushed to their limits and are often at the brink of their patience, perseverance and even determination under such circumstances. In a family with a terminally ill patient, fellow members often react in two distinct ways, passively or proactively. Usually, many people react to such heart breaking news in a pessimistically passive way in the initial stages of such a discovery. This is primarily due to the reason that many of them are unable to come to terms with such news and many cannot fathom why such disastrous things should occur to their loved ones. In a crisis like this, many often experience mood swings, are frustrated and get agitated easily most at the time. Many of them many not have been faced with a situation before and hence are often at a loss over what to tell or do for their terminally ill loved one. If it is only in the subsequent stages of the illness that the patient’s family members begin to accept the illness and learn how to cope with it. This is of often achieved through counseling offered to them by professionals or people who have been in the same boat previously. Hence, at a domestic level a crisis brings out the worst in people initially and the best during the later stages when they are better able to cope with it and exercise more good qualities such as patience, perseverance and even knowing what choice of words they should make. A crisis, though it may seem negative in nature, actually has the power to write or divide people, depending on how people react to it themselves. For instance, the US-led war in Afghanistan ended with a civil strife that resulted in many minority groups such as the Pashtun fighting against the Shiites and Sunnis. The decade-long repressed problem of warlords cropped up once again. For a moment, Afghanistan was divided as it was before. Fortunately, the extent of the problem was greatly reduced thanks to the formation of the interim government and the intervention of the United Nations (UN). On the brighter side, the crisis which the Afghans experiences, in 2001 in the form of war made them write and realize the importance of choosing their own government and making amendment to the way in which their country was run. The end of the Taliban regime which led 5-years of oppressive rule in Afghanistan led to citizens of Afghanistan questioning their rights and protecting them. This then accounts for the involvement of women in Afghanistan’s political arena, an act which would have been punishable under the repressive Taliban rule. Hence, in this instance, the bloodshed of war, a major crisis in Afghanistan brought out the best and worst in Afghanistan. As a crisis always brings out the best and worst in people as seen in the earlier mentioned case studies, it is vital that people stick to the values and principles by which they lead their lives! A crisis should be a learning process whereby people discover their weakness and think of ways to channel it into something positive. As it is also a time of test and trial, one must always bear in mind that perseverance will yield its rewards one day. Should people fail to realize these, the world will then turn into a chaotic ground and become another Iraq or Afghanistan where looting and rioting occur freely and more dangerously, loosely.
Author is a person who have successfully combated acne. For more information, visit http://www.homeacneskincare.com on tips how you can banish acne forever too!
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Contributor's Note
Author is a person who have successfully combated acne. For more information, visit http://www.homeacneskincare.com on tips how you can banish acne forever too!
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