A friend asked me if I were optimistic about people’s ability to draw positive lessons from COVID-19. I spoke to him of my perplexity. While I am not pessimistic, the work towards real change in people’s lives will be an uphill battle and will take time.
It’s about mindset or mentality, a word that contains the prefix “men” (from the Latin mens), which in Sanskrit means “ardor, vehemence,” i.e., the passion with which human beings face reality and search for the basis of things. Ultimately, mentality defines the way we “are” in reality. Mentality is, therefore, not something added on; it touches the deepest core of one’s being, one’s reason for existing, the way we make sense of things. There may be external, sociological circumstances that shape a specific mentality: Western, Nordic, Latin, Semitic. Other circumstances, on the other hand, are internal: they are not sociological motivations but are those structurally related to reason, and thus, we can speak of a scientific, philosophical, or theological mentality.
If we combine the external and internal dimensions, we see that today an individualistic mentality prevails. This is what causes perplexity about the ability to accompany that change of epoch of which Pope Francis speaks. The individualistic mentality is conditioned by multiple and historical circumstances, including the globalization of consumption, the interconnectedness fostered by social media, etc.
Paradoxically, growth in the possibility of establishing relationships has led to a diminished capacity for authentic ones. From a structural point of view, people are more “individuals,” lonelier, with increasingly limited horizons, even if they are overwhelmed by multiple relationships. We reason individually in a sea of connections. (Even if we have a thousand “Facebook friends,” who among these people can we honestly consider our real friends? When we post something on social media, are we constantly seeking “likes” or our own validation?)
From an ethical point of view, our societies are pervaded by an individualistic mentality. Therefore, even when we commit ourselves to causes of high ethical and relational value, such as environmental or social causes, it is done with an “ardor and vehemence” that betray a fundamentally individual interest. This, in my opinion, is not an ideological prejudice, but an observation that springs from the contradictions that this mentality, apparently relational but really individualistic, makes us see. A case in point is the growing acceptance of abortion to promote “maternal care.” Although this is presented by some governments and institutions as a means to provide better health for mothers, a psychological wound remains. And what about the unborn child? Aren’t we all for the good of everybody? Isn’t abortion the antithesis of care?
I could go on with the problem of elderly persons, who were among the first to succumb to COVID-19 these past months, and most of them dying alone. The individualistic mentality is structural. Breaking this wall to make room for something else will indeed be a tough job.
Jesús Morán
