What have we learnt over the last two years?

Social division

The pandemic has created winners and losers. The winners have been the corporations run by the 'chic' revolutionary elite who have different views of what society should be. They are supporting neo-revisionary activists who are advocating a politics of prejudice and hate. They want to silence anyone who opposes their ideas.

There are perhaps some generational dynamics occurring. Ned Howe and Neil Straus argued that the Millennials would be the hero generation. Just like the Baby Boomers, the Millennials saw Marxism as a possible solution to the world's problems. However, the Boomers saw the cold war, which is ancient history to the Millennials.

Jean Twenge called the Millennials out for what she saw they really are, a self-entitled, generation me. Unlike the Boomers and Gen Xers, the Millennials are dispossessed, unable to live the lifestyle of their parents and have rebelled. In this light, the narcissism displayed by organizations like Black Lives Matter can be seen as quests to collect their entitlement. BLM and 'woke' groups project contempt, anger, and hate at the Boomer generation.

On the other side of the divide, are masses of people struggling to survive. Their dreams of being self-supporting went away with their businesses and jobs. They have been oppressed by government through restrictions, with their souls under attack by hate and anger for what they believe in.

Social division will become a major legacy of the pandemic. This will affect society for years to come and is rapidly changing the political divide. The traditional left and right have little meaning today. Political spectrums are splintering leaving it open for more minority interest parties to enter. Traditional political parties are finding it difficult to keep their historical support bases, which are rapidly shifting. There may be a period of minority governments, or governments requiring the support of minority parties to govern over the next decade. Social polarization will lead to political fragmentation.

The neglected issue of public health

Lifestyle illnesses resulted in many deaths during the pandemic. The vulnerable were those with comorbidities. After two years, no government has talked about issues of health and preventative medicine seriously. During restrictions there was no education about how people could develop and enhance their personal immune systems through good exercise, and proper diet. Preventative medicine is missing in our 21^st century society.

The pandemic has created an Orwellian health system were one solution fits all. Personalized medicine practiced for decades has gone in favour of the principle, one solution fits all.

The scourge of corporate capitalism is allowed to produce unhealthy products, while pharmaceutical companies price medicines which are out of the reach of many who need them. These are all issues that require solutions.

A failure of regulatory checks and balances

The robust system of checks and balances created for the pharmaceutical registration process, was pushed aside for political reasons during the pandemic. Corporations had massive financial windfalls, but questions about the products they presented to the world to solve the pandemic will be asked for years to come. As of today, we are still uncertain about efficacy, and have no idea about long term side effects. Although there are many anecdotal stories about deaths and side effects, no central registrar of these events is being collected.

The gatekeepers of the world's pharmaceutical regulatory system have failed to do their job. This may potentially compromise trust in the system in years to come, if adverse effects of pandemic era medicines come to light.

The biggest lesson of the pandemic was that citizens were only too willing to give up their rights out of fear. Fear has gone so far today, that one group is victimizing the other group over the medical decisions they choose to make. We are seeing tribal like behaviour across many parts of the world. We may be entering the endemic stage of SARS-CoV-2 now, but hate and prejudice will remain within society for a long time to come. The world could very easily slip into a society based upon privilege and dispossession if vaccine identification systems created during the pandemic are not dismantled.

The world has undergone a seismic shift. This needs to be recognized and lessons quickly learned.