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By Abel Merawi
May 4, 2020 (Ezega.com) – In times of crisis, information and a better understanding are essential for survival. But it is difficult to have a deep understanding when your main sources of information are famous people. We are currently dealing with the global pandemic of COVID-19, and every time we turn on television or other conventional media, we meet famous personalities rather than experts. We see interviews with musicians, athletes, actors, and comedians about the spread of the virus. Activists and popular politicians dominate the spotlight, ready to show us how to best protect ourselves from the pandemic. Social media is full of posts by idolized personalities from around the world. To make matters worse, we listened to the majority opinion regarding regulations. This was clearly seen when American citizens come out and protest the temporary closure of companies in support of President Donald Trump. All of these things are a barrier between people and experts.
It is sad to witness the dominance of fame coupled with the silencing of true medical experts. For example, every contribution made by public figures receives recognition as the daily struggle of health workers goes unnoticed. It looks like a sponsored ad when wealthy people make donations accompanied by a relentless speech about how good they are and curiosities about how people should protect themselves. Then there are debates from various academics from all fields except medicine, who hold debates and give us lessons on how to behave during those times. The message of the World Health Organization and other official institutes is communicated through famous people. The only ones left out of the scene are essential medical experts. This makes us question the intention of famous people and examine more critically the mentality of the majority.
Respect for fame is not new; It has been the dominant feature of our modern world since the primacy of postmodernity. This ideology is opposed to anything concrete and has slowly eaten our values. In the postmodern world, expert opinion is valued no more than the opinion of most famous personalities. This mistake led us to ignore the concrete facts or the truth and see everything subjectively. The error was clearly explained by Socrates in “Apology” when he asks if he should assess the opinion of his friends or a doctor regarding his health. Just because your friends care about you or famous people care about the current situation doesn’t mean they have the solutions. In “The Twilight of the Idols,” Friedrich Nietzsche warns the world, saying, “Never equal what is unequal.” Assuming everyone is right is really the wrong kind of equality. However, this equality of the unequal is the agreement we made by accepting postmodernity.
The consequence of mistaking fame for experience can be dire. Think of a comedian or artist doing a play about the new coronavirus in a humorous way and its consequences for the audience. People will begin to minimize the severity of the disease. I am not going to name those artists because, for them, all publicity is good publicity. When famous supermodels and artists talk about gender and environmental issues, the result has been neglect and more destruction. I fear the same as the current pandemic. Medical experts who have first-hand experience in fighting COVID-19 have seen the consequence and are the proper authority to inform people. Anything else is a joke to people, as it implies that people are ignored unless they are drawn to entertainment as children.
To clearly understand this trend, it is advisable to question the intent of these unauthorized opinion leaders. Some of these people crave people’s attention and look for every opportunity to gain admiration. The same is true for modern intellectuals who walk with an air of knowing everything. It is better to always stick to what you know because, as Nietzsche says, “wisdom also limits knowledge.” Anyone trying to exploit the current crisis should know that this is not the time. The mainstream media should also set the right priority. Unfortunately, you could gain more audience by interviewing famous people about COVID-19 without losing the purpose of having the interview in the first place. The media have a responsibility to people, which results in the presentation of facts and clear information. As always, such artists will try to take charge of a social problem and solve it, but the media can be guardians of people.
The fault is not always in these attention seekers because their existence depends on the reaction of the people. Most people love to hear about the lives of footballers or artists. But nobody wants to hear about the lives of doctors. Currently, there are a lot of silly shows in the media that show us how a famous artist is “dealing with the virus.” However, he hardly sees any program that shows how a real doctor deals with patients in quarantine centers and how it affects personal life. We value the unimportant because we don’t want someone who is better, we just want to be the same! Nietzsche predicts the arrival of our world today in “Thus spoke Zarathustra” when he said: “No shepherd and a herd! They all want the same thing, they are all the same: whoever feels different voluntarily enters a madhouse.” Most people they prefer comfort than truth, they admire celebrities because they want to be like them.
While celebrities entertain people, healthcare workers are also saving lives and losing theirs. Last week, as published in The New York Times, Dr. Loran M. Breen, who worked at a Manhattan hospital, committed suicide due to the stress she faced in treating patients with COVID-19. They faced so much mental strain to help people, but sadly we prefer the opinion of famous people. These doctors do not seek fame, they seek solutions. Nietzsche commented: “Around the inventors of new values, the world turns: invisibly turns. But people and fame revolve around the actors: that is “the way of the world”. Yes, the real change will come from healthcare workers, but even then credit is given to artists and politicians. Until now, this has been the absurd way of the world, but it is not letting us change our ways.
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Abel Merawi He is a contributor to Addis Ababa for Ezega.com. He can be contacted through this form.
Other items from Abel Merawi:
The heavy burden of health workers
A time to reflect
The plague of Albert Camus: Fiction becomes reality!
History of pandemics in Ethiopia
Human fight against pandemics: historical perspective
Crisis speculators
You can make the difference
Rule of law for a free society
Adwa
The origins of the law
Determinants of market value: Part II
Determinants of Market Value: Part I
Your life also matters
Manifestations of artistic expression.
Achievements vs. Natural Accidents
The grip of sacrifice
Injustice is never justifiable
Educational demands of the future
Job security, life and the unpredictable future
The shift from racism to bodybuilding
Sacrifice the meaning of power?
Culture and market forces
Intersubjective reality
Seeking cosmic justice
National myths: creators and destroyers of nations
Are we truly free?
Maturity: the prerequisite for freedom and democracy
Loyalty to the truth, not the group
The value of work
The flaws of the Ethiopian political system
Intellectuals and people
Where are our pioneers?
The allegory of the cave and its lessons for leaders
The truth behind humanity
The seven virtues
The seven capital sins
What to do?
Building national identity
Adey Abeba and the spirit of change
Street violence
Living the truth as a human being
Hubris – The tragedy of not learning from others
The era of group mentality: us against them
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