You may hate a thing but there is good in it for you. Finding “good” in the Corona Pandemic was the challenge for my youth debate group. It didn’t take us long to think of these three things that we believe are good outcomes of the pandemic.
Environmental Cleanse
With so many people working and schooling from home there was much less need for driving. While many of us missed traveling, airplane fuel usage leaves massive carbon footprints.
Less use of cars and other transportation helped clear the air. Some people thought it would be impossible to fix our environment. Perhaps they will reconsider now that they see how quickly the damage can be reversed.
Levels of nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant primarily from burning fossil fuels, were down as much as 30% according to NASA. A lot of factories pausing work were enormous in reducing air pollution.
This is most noticeable in China, but it reportedly improved in many areas across the globe. While many are striving to re-open, we can continue to rethink our shopping habits, which were also slowed down during the lockdowns.
The Minimalist Movement garnered a lot of attention while people were stuck at home. We were confronted by all our things and unable to shop for new ones. Changing our mentality was something else the Coronavirus affected for many.
Health Issues
It may be hard to conceptualize how Coronavirus was good for our health, but it really opened our eyes to a lot of health and health care issues. For starters, we now take more seriously the importance of prevention of illness through hygiene.
Washing hands, not sharing personal items, being considerate of others when you are sick – these are all very basic hygiene practices, yet even the most educated people on earth fail to practice them.
Boosting our immune system through preventive care and being sporty were issues that were highlighted because of the pandemic. Mental health may yet be the biggest health issue to be addressed due to Corona.
With so many people now experiencing anxiety and depression these issues are coming out of taboo shadows and into daily conversations for many people.
We also saw the weaknesses in our health care systems, and inshaAllah this is an issue where there is still some good to come from the pandemic.
Solidarity
Fairly early in the pandemic we saw some signs of solidarity, such as neighborhoods cheering on those who remained working on the frontlines. As things became more economically difficult we saw even more solidarity from those who previously had none.
Many homeowners forgave rent for those who were struggling. Even though they didn’t have to, some employers continued to pay wages while their employees were stuck at home.
Many organizations that weren’t previously charity-based came together to collect and distribute food and other necessities to those in need.
Respecting safety measures was a new challenge for those who are already practiced in distributing charity. But again, this was a good challenge as learning new ways to do things often is.
There was so much to be learned on a global scale in such a short time with this Corona Pandemic. The solidarity that we saw in these excruciating times surely will continue to inspire the young generation to be brave enough to give without worrying about losing.
It will encourage them to be freer to help fellow humans and other beings. And hopefully we can remember to look for the positive possibilities even in the seemingly worse times.
The post Three Ways Coronavirus Has Been Good for the World appeared first on About Islam.
source https://aboutislam.net/family-life/youth-4-the-future/three-ways-coronavirus-has-been-good-for-the-world/
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