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In the confusion caused by the pandemic, only a crisis team can provide clarity.
One of the most worrying side effects of the pandemic is the crumbling confidence in the functioning of the state. The device that made us feel safe for decades: it is damaged. As a child, I experienced the snow disaster in Schleswig-Holstein at the end of 1978. For less than a second my family and I feared we were even remotely in danger. Stretches of land were without electricity, the roads were blocked, Bundeswehr tanks had to free what had been snowed in, and helicopters had to fly food.
I know that such a weather catastrophe cannot be compared with the almost two-year pandemic: But back then, as a ten-year-old, I learned that I can confidently have basic trust in the state. He cares. And today? Today meter-high tidal waves roll through the Ahr valley, and even the sirens don’t wail. But I don’t want to start with that.
These days, the state is impressively demonstrating how far it is from getting the virus under control. Trapped in false consideration, naive hoping for better numbers, unable to act as one, let alone communicate. At that time, Prime Minister Gerhard Stoltenberg interrupted his Christmas vacation, formed a crisis team in Kiel – and got started.
What remains is a people of individual fates
Those responsible today paddled into the fourth wave with their eyesight. Now she rears up and collapses on top of them. What remains is a people of individual fates: fully vaccinated, vaccinated once, boosted, voluntarily unvaccinated, involuntarily unvaccinated, recovered, infected with mild, moderate or severe symptoms, infected without symptoms. Vaccinated and infected, vaccinated and sick. Astra vaccinated. Biontech vaccinated. Johnson & Johnson vaccinated. And so forth.
The state cannot do anything about this either. But precisely because the pandemic is so confusing, clear announcements are needed. A direction. A target. So each individual is left to his own devices and has to weigh up how he or she behaves. For some this may be the ideal of the free citizen, for many it is overwhelming. I have seldom seen so many annoyed people around me as I do now. The fear that everyone can transmit the Delta variant despite vaccination and distance is extremely stressful. Even more so if the virus is still not taken seriously in parts of society.
The only thing that still helps now is the immediate convening of a crisis team
Even if scientists and doctors were wrong in their assessments: their recommendations have caused less damage than the hesitation and hesitation in the federal, state and local governments. The fire letter published by 35 experts and government advisors over the weekend is devastating: “A large number of recommendations for action were clearly communicated, but unfortunately implemented only hesitantly, incompletely or not sustainably (…). We feel deeply disappointed about the threat social cohesion. “
The only thing that still helps now is the immediate convening of a crisis team, as the experts suggest in their fire letter. Former Federal Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maizière, an experienced political manager, has long been calling for a national crisis team that ensures clear, comprehensible decisions. Not only in the pandemic, but in general, because “crises are part of our lives”. And the state’s highest duty is to protect us from them.
If you want to share your thoughts and comments with me, write to me: florian.gless@stern.de
Stern editor-in-chief Florian Gless writes here every other week about the challenge of simply being human
Source From: Stern
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
