“It is not that we have a brief length of time to live, but that we squander a great deal of that time. Life is sufficiently long, and has been granted with enough generosity for us to accomplish the greatest things, provided that in its entirety it is well invested; but when it is dissipated in extravagance and carelessness, when it is spent on no good purpose, then, compelled at last by the final necessity, we realize it has passed away without our noticing its passing.” – Seneca, On the Shortness of Life , John Davie Translation, 1.
The world is currently in the middle of a pandemic, and many steps are being taken by the world’s governments to combat it as quickly as they can. Our many media outlets have been covering new cases of COVID-19 virus as they occur, and also reporting on what I would consider to be… questionable behaviour. Without going into an enormous discussion, as those are also flooding the internet, people are scared, and scared people do whatever they can to make themselves feel safe. There are others among us who see it differently. They see the fear and the panic, and see an opportunity for gain. They purchase massive amounts of useful materials in order to resell them at ridiculous prices, to capitalize on the fear, and the need, for prevention of and protection from the spreading of the virus. Whereas the people who are afraid worry that their lives are to be cut short, I would argue that the greed of the people who are profiting from the fear, renders them morally dead, because they’ve chosen, instead of helping, to hinder, in order to thrive.
I am certain that the world is able to survive this crisis. When the dust settles, those who had chosen opportunity over genuine goodwill towards others will have to live with what they’ve done. I’ve already seen the arguments about it on social media, and the fact that there are a significant number of people who feel compelled to defend this behaviour makes it difficult to see humankind as essentially good. I know there are good people out there, but to see news outlets writing about the price gougers, glorifying their “hustle”, is disheartening. Of course, I need only worry about I do, and not burden myself with the behaviour of others. It just… makes me sad. They live a life they may claim is too short, but in reality they’re already as good as dead.
“Circumstance don’t make the man. They only reveal him to himself.” – Epictetus