How Surviving Omicron in Spain Is A Blessing Compared to America

Community and social ties are more crucial during the pandemic than hyper-individualism and extreme capitalism

My neighbor called me last week and declared, “It’s like Wuhan Central here. There is more COVID positives than negatives in our small Spanish village.”

She was correct: My daughter and I were among the sick. Since January 3rd, we’ve exhibited all the typical signs of Omicron, including a fever, a headache, tiredness, and a scratchy throat.

How did it all start?

On New Year’s Eve, we played poker with our neighbor. I didn’t feel like partying because of the new Covid-19 variant: Omicron. For this reason, I only invited one person- my neighbor. The night was fun but the next day afternoon; I received a message on my phone:

Sh*t, I feel sick, really sick. I did the antigen test but it turned out negative, I will repeat it tomorrow. Cross fingers.

Tomorrow came, and…

The test is positive. Watch out… And I am so sorry.

Sure enough, Monday morning, we woke up with chills, malaise, and a scratchy throat. And the next day we tested positive, as well.

Later on, we learned that many of our neighbors, friends, even people we don’t know are positive in our village.

My dear friends and neighbors living above our street had recovered from the illness two weeks earlier. So, they became our “Florence Nightingale”, who ran to the pharmacy and bought antigen tests and groceries for us and for other sick residents.

To be honest, the generosity of our dear neighbors was moving.

I must admit that we were lucky to have experienced, generous, and concerned neighbors willing to help us during this terrible time.

For so long, I didn’t realize how much I needed a community in my life and what it meant living in such a community.

What does it mean to live in the community?

Our neighbors knew how to look after their own; from offered bowl of fresh soup, or groceries, to giving sound advice on nearby health clinics. Although we were a little isolated from the outside world, our neighbors still kept their eyes on us.

We didn’t pay our neighbors who helped us right away. Money wasn’t a concern.

My daughter’s school sent her homework by email, and the headmaster wished for a quick recovery. The clinic’s nurse called us to inquire whether we needed anything further.

Others prepared meals for us, and the store’s shelves were not lacking in anything since most of it was locally run by locals. There was always someone available to pick up groceries from Granada and stuck up the shelves at our small grocery store.

We didn’t miss a thing, I’ll tell you that.

No masks.

No food.

And no tests.

I didn’t feel the stress, the despair because I knew we have help within reach and people close by which we trust: our community.

We had the most important thing during the pandemic-the community and close social ties to help and support us to go through the illness.

And I can tell you, I am vaccinated, but Omicron wasn’t a mild illness as described; at all. Some days I couldn’t easily get to the bathroom because my body felt so weak.

Meanwhile, I read sad stories here on Medium and NY Times how Americans feel desperate, lonely, and dissent.

For example, Jessica Wildfire’s story where she writes about missing masks, people scared, long covid lines, and children being at home. Parents are exhausted and feel they have no support and help.

Another story from NY Times:

“Across the country, millions of Americans have been sick at home alone in recent days, igniting debates over testing and safety measures in schools… Schools and colleges were facing the uncertainty of whether to conduct classes in person or virtually, sometimes while balancing competing arguments from parents, teachers, and students.”

Kit Campoy states in her story:

The pandemic had finally broken me.

Jude Ellison S. Doyle explains:

Parents are expected to act as shock absorbers and silent martyrs in the pandemic, even as every system fails at once…

What a chaos?

What happened to Public Health and communities?

My friends from the US when they call me, they tell me how school buses aren’t coming because of Covid-19; the food is missing in the stores, the lines for testing are super long. Everything is extremely expensive, even for the necessities. Masks are triple the price.

While I listen to those stories, I imagine Yemen and not the US.

Is the US collapsing? Or is it on the verge of collapse? Public health obviously failed Americans.

It seems America is falling apart like the house of cards because of two reasons: Hyper-individualism/no communities and Public Health.

Public Health and community coexist, they can’t work properly without one another. If you want Public Health to work, you need a community.

In the US, individuals think of themselves as separate from the community and only look out for themselves.

In my eyes, this is a symptom of extreme capitalism.

As one famous American economist once said: “Only the atoms possess economic freedom.” Only the atoms are free to do whatever they want.

But it doesn’t have to be this way… I’m not saying that America should change overnight to become more community-like with stronger social ties like Spain, but people should take more time to think of others first.

During a pandemic that has infected the whole globe, the best way is not “atomization” but “communal”.

The ideology of Marxism that focuses on the issues in society towards capitalism completely separates individuals.

This is exactly what is happening when Omicron spreading throughout America, where communities are becoming divided and there is no more feelings of care towards others.

People become desperate, with nowhere to turn for help.

Humans can’t survive without a community, especially during pandemics.

Americans are dying in droves because of their hyper-individualism and lack of social connections.

Community and social ties are more crucial during the pandemic than hyper-individualism and extreme capitalism.

In Spain (90% fully vaccinated in the country), the death rate of covid is currently less than 1% while in the US is still above 3–4%. Also, many not only recover from the illness Covid-19 but have noticed economic recovery as well. Also, Spain is known for its strong healthcare system and Public Health, which is important to have in the country during a pandemic.

People in hyper-individualistic cultures are perplexed and despairing.

On the other hand, people living in a village with close social ties are content. I believe that mutual help is very important. We share the same life values. I realize that the sharing and supporting each other is not a luxury but a necessity, especially during these dark times.

Today, I’m still a Covid-19 positive (just without the symptoms) and waiting for the antigen test results. But with a community like mine, I feel safe and auspicious and life is good.