“And of Clay Are We Created” talks about a volcanic eruption that resulted in the lives of thousands. In the story of “And of Clay Are We Created”, seismographs had predicated the possible disaster, but no one heeded to the warning. The story portrayed the catastrophic impact of negligence during the preface of disaster. The current disaster was somewhat manageable at its early stages, however, human negligence allow it room to grow, becoming the pandemic today. The first case of the novel-virus was in Wuhan, China. Reports of the cases came as early as December by Dr. Zhang and Dr. Li but was not taken seriously by Chinese officials. As matters escalate, inflection cases spike, and the Hubei province of China was forced into lockdown. Instead of explaining the severity of the virus, both China and the W.H.O downplay the severity of the virus, preventing first actions.
Human arrogant is the root of disaster, it pressures us to overlook possible consequences. Covid-19 was the result of poor management and the failure of taking responsibility. Our failure to acknowledge our mistakes and bear its consequence is what allowed the growth of the virus. Even today, people continue to neglect the consequences of the pandemic with many failing to take proper countermeasures. I have seen videos of people visiting public facilities without wearing proper protective gear such as a face mask. In the worse case, I have seen videos of people making jokes about the virus while demonstrating poor hygiene practices in public. Disasters are preventable but human negligence is not.
Kevin, You point out an important detail from Allende’s story – the fact that the people knew that a volcanic eruption was coming, but chose to ignore the warnings of the experts. I think that the parallel you explore with the early months of this pandemic and the negligence on the part of government leaders is very powerful and troubling.