WE step into year 2021 with great expectation that the new year would be far better than 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic has almost dominated the entire global discourse on its impact on the health and social-economic well-being of the people around the world. Millions have died after being infected by the virus, besides damage done to the economy where a substantial number of global citizens, including those from Malaysia, have become unemployed.

The truth of the matter is not so much about expecting for a better new year but the importance of reflecting on essential priorities that humanity has failed to consider prior to and at the onset of the pandemic.

The crisis related to Covid-19 is not just about the virus or economics but the failure of the world to understand the limitations of human progress in spite of advancement in scientific research and technological innovation. It has failed to protect millions of citizens who lost their lives.

What has the distinguished scientific community and even the World health Organisation (WHO) done since the Sars virus outbreak in 2003 to come up with effective vaccines? The current talk of scientific achievements with the slew of vaccines is welcome development but it seems to be too late for the many families whose love ones have died in the past year without a vaccine.

The tragedy of Covid-19 has revealed that whatever achievement we attain in science, it is bound to fail if it is not guided by wisdom beyond the senses. This is not about the dualistic thinking of science or religion, but the importance of wisdom that is derived from spiritual truths beyond the finite mind on priorities that would give science its real purpose, which is to serve the common good. Unfortunately, science has been used to enrich big pharmaceutical companies where profits have become the overriding factor in medical science research.

Another question that global citizens should ask is how could a virus that is believed to have originated from wild animals can be so easily transmitted to humans. Have we crossed the natural line of demarcations due to profiteering at the expense of nature that has exposed humans to this dangerous virus?

What is obvious is that the world’s leaders and the brightest have lost their sense of wisdom in their pursuit of success, which has brought much misery to humanity. This is also true of war, destructions and violations of human rights that we see that coming from countries that proclaim themselves as beacons of freedom and righteousness.

Therefore, the year 2021 should be a time for global citizens to reflect not only on their personal expectations and past failures but to connect as communities through a deep spiritual exercise of examining their social collective conscience in relation to what the world is truly missing in spite of its progress.

Do our current social-economic, health and scientific priorities serve the common good, or are they based on the idolatry of money? Spirituality of priorities and environmental consciousness should be the way forward to rejuvenate a world broken by the Covid-19 pandemic. – January 1, 2021.

* Ronald Benjamin is secretary at the Association for Community and Dialogue.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.