The exit is usually right in front of us

(Rodrigo Contrera)

"We live in a world of many opportunities and immense progress in many areas, especially in the public and private health sector. Yet, we often forget that the solutions to seemingly insurmountable dilemmas don't necessarily lie in technology or innovation, but rest in simplicity and empathy.

I live in a condominium with 450 apartments in a suburb of S?o Paulo, Brazil. Here, several people have recently died for petty reasons. A 4-year-old child fell from the 19th floor because he was walking on the window sill, which had no protective net. A former policeman took his life with a gunshot as he couldn't cope with severe depression symptoms. A friend couldn't overcome her alcohol addiction. A man died from thrombosis and had to be rushed to the hospital where he passed away. A dear friend of mine died from an acute heart attack. Two people died from COVID.

In almost all of these cases, the deaths could have been prevented by simple care. Or at least, they could have been less traumatic. If the condominium had a community system to deal with emergencies, or if people were not so selfish, perhaps the depressed man could have overcome his condition and not passed away. My friend with an addiction might have felt more cherished and wouldn't have worsened. The heart attack victim could have received faster care.

We live in a fragmented society, extremely individualistic, insensitive to the hardships of strangers, often treating deaths as mere statistics. We lack compassion, failing to realize that the suffering next door might also concern us. Consequently, we treat tragic events as mere fatalities, even when they are not.

These oversights sometimes turn criminal, especially when authoritarian-minded individuals avoid taking basic hygiene precautions, clinging to convictions that COVID-19 was an exaggeration, a tool for international bodies to restrict our freedom. It's ridiculous to value minor opinions over your neighbor's life when nearly 700,000 people died from the virus in Brazil.

Artificial intelligence technology is significantly reducing the work and treatment cost for many well-known diseases. It is also finding solutions for previously insolvable issues like speech impediments, reducing costs, and enabling massive progress with more precise long-term diagnoses. All of this is great. However, these are not the solutions that can most impact our social life. What can change us is a mindset more open to life and well-being.

I helped transform where I live by removing a corrupt and incompetent management. I convinced many that we do not just LIVE here, but we also COEXIST. The importance is not only granted by familial or friendly relationships. The significance is given by coexistence, the notion that even if I don't know you, you are important to me just by EXISTING. This is not a sign of foolishness but indicates that you've finally woken up to the world. You can give up your leisure to help an old lady cross the street, ensuring someone else gains something.

In short, you might lose something for someone else to gain, for the sake of coexisting in this wonderful world that's also finding solutions to unimaginable issues like never before.

(Rodrigo Contrera)"

Translated by ChatGPT