We believe that now, ten months after the\nappearance of the coronavirus, is the right time to conduct sociological\nstudies which will examine the present attitude of society towards the\npandemic, i.e., of the human society as a whole and of the individual societal\ngroups of each country. We notice that the societies of Asian countries with\nautocratic regimes tend to enforce firm restrictive measures which result in\nthe quick confinement of the spreading of the pandemic. The societies of countries\nwith democratic regimes tend to give priority to saving human lives and to a\nlesser extent to balancing the economy and the professional activities of their\ncitizens, so that the whole economy does not collapse. In theory, our country\nhas followed the framework adopted by democratic states, however, in practice\nit seems that individual behaviours deviate from the norm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is normal that older people are more\nafraid during a pandemic, because at an old age it is easier to catch the virus\nand more difficult for the treatment to be effective. Because older people are\nmore vulnerable, they are more likely to comply with the daily practices proposed\nby health professionals and the restrictive measures that are enforced by the\ngovernment. The government decides on the specific measures to be taken after\nconsulting with committees of specialised scientists who study the\nepidemiological data and make relevant proposals. Older people voluntarily restrict\nautonomous actions and the fulfillment of personal desires. The opposite is\ntrue for younger people who are more impulsive and full of energy. They do not\nalways comply with the restrictive measures, because being young and strong,\nthey know that they are not as vulnerable to the disease. Even if they catch\nthe virus, they may be asymptomatic and not need treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The challenge which the politicians and\nhealth professionals of our country need to face is how to make everyone, but\nmost importantly the younger people, comply with the rules for combating the\npandemic. Citizens need to respect not only the preventive measures taken by\nthe state but also the restrictive measures for the spreading of the disease.\nSince the repression of irresponsible conduct is difficult, if not impossible,\nthe best way for the politicians to promote responsible behaviour is to become\nrole models themselves by exhibiting social responsibility and thus try to\npersuade the younger generation to act in a more responsible manner. The best\neducation for the society as a whole is the exemplary daily conduct of its\nleaders. Of course, time and a consistent effort are needed, so that the\naverage citizen will learn to copy the \u201cbeacon\u201d model and the daily behaviour\nof his\/her leaders. It will be difficult at the beginning, but once the model\nis established, extreme autonomous actions will become increasingly rare among\nyoung people, who will realise that they need to voluntarily self-impose restrictions\nto their excessive freedom, so that the most vulnerable societal groups can be\nprotected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The requirement to lockdown in our homes\nduring the first stage of the pandemic was applied successfully by the\ngovernment, because at that time the Greek citizens actually obeyed the authorities\ndue to their fear for the impact of the new and unknown until then coronavirus.\n Unfortunately, the lockdown was followed\nby the lifting of these measures and the reopening of businesses, an act which\nwas necessary for the partial recovery of the economy and the avoidance of a\nnew bankruptcy for our country. After the first wave of the pandemic, younger\npeople thought that the consequences for human health were not as serious as\npreviously thought and that the death rate was actually lower than previously\nbelieved. For these reasons our youth thought that they do not need to\ncompromise their freedoms or restrict their autonomy and their personal\nchoices. Recent data has proven that they are wrong. Not following the\nrestrictive measures might mean that younger people who catch the virus are\nasymptomatic, however, when these asymptomatic people come into contact with\nolder people, they spread the disease to this vulnerable group of people with\ncatastrophic consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recent negative developments make us pose\nthe following two questions: in a democratic country like ours, is it an\nobligation for citizens to impose self-restrictions on the freedom that comes\nfrom their extreme autonomous activities? is it an obligation for citizens to\nmake sure that their autonomous activities do not negatively affect the\npreservation of health and the preservation of life of vulnerable societal\ngroups? Most Greeks agree that the above two requirements should be followed by\nall citizens. We hope that as time goes by, everyone will realise how\ncatastrophic the results of non-compliance to the preventive and restrictive measures for\nthe spreading of the disease are. We hope that more and more people will\nrealise that the measures enforced by the government are for the common good\nand they will be willing to comply. <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We believe that now, ten months after the appearance of the coronavirus, is the right time to conduct sociological studies which will examine the present attitude of society towards the pandemic, i.e., of the human society as a whole and of the individual societal groups of each country. We notice that the societies of … \u03a3\u03c5\u03bd\u03ad\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1 \u03b1\u03bd\u03ac\u03b3\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03b7\u03c2 CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: ATTITUDE SHIFTING FROM FEAR TO FRIVOLITY<\/span>