Reflection on the word “Responsibility”
By: Matteo Mombelli
Tags: Covid-19, Philosophy, Thoughts, Life, Responsibility

In Covid-19 Times

We live in exciting times. Some people would consider 2020 the worst year of their lives. Others, the best.

Many got time to slow down, introspect, learn how to appreciate the little things and rediscover new sides of themselves.

The unhappy others, fell into depression and anxiety, succubus of the “breaking news” and the fear machine.

While I am writing, since the beginning of the pandemic, 70'000 people in the UK lost their lives to Covid -19.

It is well-known that the risk of dying with Covid-19 heightens with age and as per October 2020 The Infection- Fatality rate in England was of:

<1yr, 1–4: 0.00051%

5–14: 0.0013%

15–24: 0.0046%

25–44: 0.031%

45–64: 0.29%

65–74: 2.2%

75+: 12%

Let’s consider this:

The UK population is approximately 68million.

Hence 0.1% of the population died of Covid-19 in 2020.

Depending on your perception, you will feel these numbers as either high or low:

12% risk of dying after 75 years old

0.1% of the population.

70'000 people out of approx. 600'000 (2018)

The major contributors to premature death in 2018 in the UK were:

Ischaemic Heart Disease

Malignant Neoplasm of Trachea, Bronchus, and Lungs

Chronic Lower respiratory disease

Dementia and Alzheimer

In case you do not know. These deaths are related to an unhealthy lifestyle.

Having these numbers and data, let’s talk about this word everyone uses these days:

Responsibility.

“a duty to deal with or take care of somebody/something, so that you may be blamed if something goes wrong.”

Nowadays, it has become the favourite word used by politicians, religious leaders and the media to justify making people stay at home, away from friends and family.

Apparently, we all have the responsibility to stay at home to save lives. We have to stay at home to protect the most vulnerable, and ourselves from this insidious, invisible enemy, Covid-19.

“Stay Home, Save Lives” Cit.

Now, my question is:

Why should I be responsible for you?

Only by looking at the major contributors to death (or just by observing) can we see that people are not responsible for themselves. Still, they are asking, anyway, for others to be responsible for them.

Basically, we cannot be responsible for ourselves, so we need to be responsible for others.

Confused?

Well, I am too.

Let’s remember this: The primary cause of premature death is an unhealthy lifestyle.

People treat their bodies as garbage, eats junk and processed food, refined sugar, cancerous food (such as red meat), smokes, do not exercise, etc. daily.

Adding to this, many live lives in anxiety or stressed, basically having their bodies in full flight or attack mode, which release dangerous toxins that become cancers or impair the mind.

All this takes a massive toll on the immune system, which translates into being more prone of becoming ill and well, dying.

Just for you to know: Healthy people don’t die of Covid-19 nor any other illness.

So, wouldn’t it be better to be responsible for ourselves and be healthy?

Would it be that crazy, for governments and all the others to say: “Guys/Girls, stay healthy” instead of repeating: “Stay home, save lives”?

Would it be so crazy to start preventing being ill naturally rather than cure or using vaccines?

Imagine that all of us would be healthy, eating food that doesn’t kill us but instead cure us. Stop inhaling cigarette smokes or fumes of cars. Stop drinking chemically polluted water or any other unnecessary beverage full of chemicals and refined sugars.

Nobody would need to stay at home.

Simply if were to take responsibility for ourselves and our health we could change the world.

You will notice that what kills you, kill the Planet as well.

Co2 emissions, methane emission, healthcare costs, all of this would drop.

If you, Yourself, take responsibility for Yourself and take care of Yourself.

I believe it is the best solution for all, stop looking at others or worry about others.

Worry about you and be responsible for yourself.

If this would happen at least, we could get the chance to live life, because today, due to fearing death, we are not living.

Isn’t it funny?

Resources:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/annualmidyearpopulationestimates/mid2019estimates

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/causesofdeath/articles/leadingcausesofdeathuk/2001to2018

MRC Biostatistics Unit, University of Cambridge (12 October 2020)

https://www.statista.com/statistics/281488/number-of-deaths-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/