優秀散文訢賞2

Highlights of SARS “非典” 之突出反映

　　The current outbreak of SARS （severe acute respiratory syndrome）， which has no known cure for victims afflicted by it， has brought widespread panic to people and has drastically altered the pattern of their daily life. The famous saying of President FD Roosevelt that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” aptly encapsulates the present state of mind of a large cross-section of people.

　　It is fair to say that it has highlighted both the nobler and weaker sides of modern people's character. First， the well-deserved accolades. Our valiant and caring healthcare givers， both in the public and private sectors， have borne the brunt of it， especially during the early stage， with not a few of them contracting it and some are still fighting for their lives. On the unedifying side， numerous fellow people have treated their healthcare professional like pariahs. Some even avoid them like plagues. These were utterly irrational and inexcusable. At the other extreme， the repeated use of the term “super-infector” by some of the health authorities and the media to emphasize the transmission of this disease by one particular patient to numerous others was rather unfortunate and showed the lack of sensitivity to the feelings of this hapless victim and his or her family.

　　This outbreak also highlights a trait of modern people， which is that we tend to overreact in a crisis situation， instead of remaining calm and act rationally. We should do some honest soul searching and learn the object lessons from the current outbreak. This would enable us to tackle other future national crises with greater success and equanimity. （268 words）