Obedience is something human beings find difficult to adhere to. Being able and willing to do what one is told to do. Making use of mental powers in an attempt to do something is embodied in the larger concept of obedience. Disobedience is failing to employ mental powers to make the right choice in abiding by the law and order.
The law demands complete obedience of the subjects for the purpose of peaceful existence. The law treated as single independent idea is a rule made by authority for the proper regulation of a community or a society or for the correct conduct of life of which obedience becomes the hub of the machinery, controlling the influence of the law. The law, without obedience, how scientifically it is made, is as ineffective as a lion without teeth. No matter how loud the lion roars, it is unrealistic unless it pounces or delivers sudden attack.
The law, in this case, is nothing other than what they call a paper tiger. God, as the exodus of the children of Israel was advancing, gave them the law of which the secular law is modeled after. He instructed them to strictly follow and obey them for their own safety. Disobedience has its own repercussions as it is indicated somewhere in the Bible. In Exodus 28: 27, it depicts that if one disobeys his commandments, He will smite with the botch of Egypt, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof no one can be healed of it. Man is more of inclining to violation than adherence to the law. He finds it very difficult to remain faithful or support firmly the law. Such deviant attitude, in the course of time entices, people to commit crimes, the exact opposite response to what the precepts of the law demands. Rules directly related to coronavirus, call for absolute obedience to the directives given. Although the adherence to the rules, from the set off, appears simple, the actual implementation takes moral certainty. Keeping the rules is so probable that there is little room for doubt, the case that not many people yield to. Much negligence is insistently easy to witnessed everywhere, in paying heed to the proper instructions intended to rescue the would-be perishing lives by the coronavirus abject infection. Ethiopians are believed to have close social affinity. Social events such burial ceremony, marriage and religious and seasonal festive and the like demand the unreserved involvement of all the people acquainted to those the event chiefly concerns. For further elucidation, it is proper to touch upon certain issues.
During marriage and burial ceremonies, as many people as possible are expected to attend; any person failing to be in accord the norm, is subject to social condemnation which he should accept with grace. In such social fabric, setting apart the tightly-nit individual relationship is extremely difficult and, in fact, unthinkable.
The situation goes down to the extent of sharing food from the same plate where one person puts a morsel of food into the mouth of the other; the style unseen anywhere else in the world. Nevertheless, keeping physical distance to protect oneself from the attack of the corona virus is vital. The pretext of such life style puts the society in an awkward situation to apply the safety measures. Constantly washing of hands in the frequency of every some minutes, is unprecedented in the society.
It is customary in Ethiopia to wash hands before and after every meal if need be; that is done with a purpose, may be hygiene or something else. Under normal circumstance many people are used to coughing freely with or without people around. In severe cases, or else, when the individual suffers from cold or influenza, covering the mouth to a certain degree, may be required to avoid being infected.
It is considered impolite to ask the individual to cover his or her mouth unless the initiation comes from the person himself. That is why, in some seasons, many people are seen coughing and sneezing in which the situation is not seriously considered. But when it is considered from the angle of corona virus, it becomes an entirely different and alarming case.
The viral attack is so fatal that people are advised, rather instructed to relate themselves to careless coughing and sneezing with zero tolerance, even if it is among members of the family. Each one is for himself, for it is a matter of life and death. In such dire situation, each person should make self-protection his first priority for life something precious he cannot trade for anything.
The saddest part of the situation is the disobedience of many people to follow the instruction to protect themselves and others, too. Coronavirus infection pervades or gets into every part of the society and the world at large indiscriminately taking as heavy tolls of many humans as it can.
Therefore, the disobedience does not cause destruction only to the erratic person but also to all around him; such a person should be charges with the heinous crime he has done to humanity. The crime committed through disobedience in a certain part of the world affects all people the border as the world has become a global village; the pain of the blow is felt somewhere else.
To control its spread, certain measures are being taken, like closing borders at the expense of forfeiting economic advantages to a lesser or greater degree depending upon the objective reality of the country. There is no such a concept as free air as long as coronavirus is in control. Whether man likes it or not, he is dictated to filter the air he inhales by some means.
The possible effective way currently available is the use of masks which are in short distribution even for doctors, nurses and all those who are closely attending to the victims of the virus of which they are expressing the dire need of masks. To tighten the noose, Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends the constant use of masks by all as the virus might be air born. According to the Center, belief that keeping physical distance at two meters is no more valid as the coronavirus can travel six to eight meters during coughing and sneezing.
Not all suffer from such a shortage as some countries have significantly equipped their health workers. Since the inception of the attack of coronavirus there have sprang up spoilers of all the protective measures being attempted to put in place. One of the main protective measures is staying indoors that is believed to minimize the chances of being in contact with the infected people.
Unfortunately, the response from the people is rather disheartening. They behave as if they are immune from the coronavirus. It is commonplace to see people gathering in one place despite the urgency of the need to distance oneself from others.
From what is happening, it appears it easy t conclude such people are either ignorant or arrogant. They show too much pride to oneself and too little consideration for others; yet, their foolishness is that their misconduct cannot spare them from the grave consequences. The mode of transportation is among the spoilers in which taxis are gravely implicated. The self-seeking greed visible in their contact with their customers impedes the efforts being taken by the government to contain the contagion of the virus.
In the face of the pervasion of the infection of the virus in every corner of human life, the need for amply distancing oneself is of paramount importance eminent which taxi drivers and conductors intent violating it. In an attempt to get short cut to the unlikely prosperity they keep onboard six people more than the government set; they still keep about eighteen passengers, a suffocating situation even under normal circumstance. All the misconducts aforementioned deny us the right to experience joy through obedience. Let’s all heed to the advice of the knowledgeable and the wise.
The Ethiopian Herald April 12/2020
BY JOSEPH SOBOKA
