SINGAPORE: While the covid-19 crisis worsens around the world, stemming its continued spread will depend on collective action and active choices to prioritise society over self.
To support health workers on the front lines and protect the vulnerable, societies must adopt an overall policy of kindness.
In Asia, our reverence and respect for elders makes us more likely to comply with social distancing and good sanitation to limit the spread of the virus.
This philosophy of kindness should now extend well beyond the current crisis and inform our cultural practices. A philosophy of kindness would avoid the racism and cultural bashing of Asians we are witnessing, and help prevent the practices that resulted in the outbreak in the first place.