Franklin D. Roosevelt said, ‘Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off.’ 

Unfortunately, the world hasn’t been taking Roosevelt’s saying very seriously. The world has become so competitive – it’s like everyone is a part of a race, even the ones who didn’t want to participate. The world has become so competitive that as soon as the lockdown was announced, people went haywire and started posting about how we must be our most productive self during the lockdown. 

‘You have all this time to yourself, and you must come out of this with a business plan or a book or a new song!’ 

Somehow, this lockdown, which was supposed to be a cooperative and collaborative effort to prevent a larger problem, became a competitive sport. And social media has become the platform to showcase how much points we have earned. 

Well, sharing on social media is not a problem. Even aiming to be extra productive during the lockdown is not a problem. It is actually great! The problem is the pressure! There has been so much pressure put on people to be productive and creative that it seems like many people have forgotten why we are in this lockdown. 

The world is in a chaotic place. Many people are staying home. Some are in complete isolation. So many people have lost their jobs. So many people are away from their families. And even without these problems, there are people who live with mental illness, who rely on daily activities to stay positive. There are people who live in abusive households, who can’t escape the four walls of their house anymore. There are people who can’t work under pressure. 

Yes, we have all this time to ourselves! Yet, we also have a major problem roaming around the world! We are all scared and confused. And the least we can do is be kind to ourselves and each other. The least we can do is support one another. We don’t know what people in quarantine are going through. If you’re privileged enough to be productive during this time of lockdown, that’s amazing for you! But please consider that there are people who are not as privileged as you. And we must be kind and cooperative.

In the profound words of Iron Man, ‘ The Earth is closed.’ – the pressure should be too!

Pratiksha Rajopadhyaya