PRFORMANCE BASED TASK

Integrated Language Arts Grade 10

First Quarter, SY 2020 -2021

• Read the article, “Coronavirus is just a natural selection,” and highlight essential points that you can use in
your 2-minute persuasive speech in English. (See learning packet)
• Create a 3-paragraph meaningful persuasive essay that emphasizes on why coronavirus is just a natural
selection. You can also add information from other sources.

CORONAVIRUS IS JUST NATURAL SELECTION.

POSTED BYTHE COMPLETE THINKER 16/03/2020

Coronavirus has swept through continent to
continent, leaving in its wake only chaos and panic.
This newly classified pandemic is certainly causing
a few hairlines to recede, but I argue that we
should welcome the illness as Earth’s natural
selection. Throughout history, it’s no secret that
we have experienced a multitude of diseases
whether due to viruses, contaminated food and
water supplies, or a flea. The Black Death in 1348
singlehandedly wiped out 60% of Europe, leaving
the population unrecovered until toughly 200
years later. Estimations of the total death toll
range from 50 million to 200 million; this
catastrophic amount rivalled even the WWII
count. The Spanish Flu (Influenza) in 1918 was
another pandemic that devastated the world.
Deriving from the type Influenza A virus – the
same type that Swine flu came from 91 years later
in 2009 – it easily infected 1/3 of the world’s
population and killed anywhere between 20 – 50
million. Some sources even argue it killed 100
million, 3% of Earth’s population. The irritating
thing about it was that this respiratory virus was
extremely contagious through droplets in the air,
so much so that people were forced to wear
masks and public buildings like schools,
businesses and theatres were shut; much like how
most of the world’s responding to the new
coronavirus. There was no vaccine at the time,
which wasn’t so bad after the first relatively mild
wave but during the second one, this is when it
really became a problem.
Even tough that needed vaccine was later
introduced in the 1930s, the changeable and
mutating nature of the virus meant that it came
1
back several times over the course of the century.
To this day, we still go through a ‘flu season’ every
year. Although, the fact that these viruses are
able to mutate so easily is something to admire as
evolution is a key to survival.
Not only diseases but many occurrences like
war, famine and natural disasters have resulted in
the decline in world population. In fact, it is the
nature of it to go through rises and falls, and yes,
some may say that the dramatic drop after some
such cases is something to focus on, but I think
that its also important to focus on the extreme
rises. It’s common knowledge that the world is
suffering from a horrendous overpopulation
problem; resources are running out, natural lands
like the rainforests are being desecrated for food,
third world countries are struggling more and
more to put food on the children’s table, and
through it all our population still rises. The way we
are living our lives is unsustainable for where we
are living our lives. From this, it could justifiably be
argued that the coronavirus outbreak is just
another of the Earth’s ways of stabilizing the
population. It is the Darwinian theory of natural
selection playing out.
Darwin’s natural selection and survival of the
fittest is the natural process of pruning out the
weak and ensuring the fittest survive and
reproduce. Perhaps influenza and the black death
were simply methods of enacting the process,
making sure the human race evolves into their
most able selves. Perhaps its humanity’s
sentimentality and tendency to hold onto things
that should not be held on to that causes such
anxiety. Perhaps death is a natural process.
Perhaps our own preventative methods are not.
Should we all get coronavirus? Is it a certain
necessity that needs to happen to build herd
immunity? Does it have to separate the weaker
from the stronger? Do we have to stop holding
onto things for so long?
In contrast, in many past diseases there have
been quite a few previously perfectly healthy
people that fell victim as well as innocent children
and the young. It cuts short their life and
diminishes any chance of ever doing something
great for the world. Or ever doing something bad.
Either way, it is an opportunity that we are
missing out on. The question on my lips is, will it
get that far? So, even if this is a stage of evolution,
is it something we should combat against. Doing
nothing could be just as evil as going on a mass
genocide spree and justifying it with ‘survival of
the fittest’.
But despite this all, I don’t agree with the
mass hysteria. Diseases like coronavirus are
natural and normal and have happened all across
history. As sad as that is, if we have come out
through those, why can’t we come out through
this? What is the point in panicking when that in
itself is only going to cause more panic? Its
understandable that its hard to acknowledge the
fact that people we know may die, especially the
old or those with underlying health conditions.
After all, humans a hoarders in nature. But
coronavirus is an evolutionary process that,
although we should be weary of, does not mean
people should buy 5 multipacks of toilet roll.
Maybe we would be doing more by doing less.
Even if 2 months off school sounds fun.
Reference:
Thinker, T. C. (2020, March 16). Coronavirus is
just natural selection. The Complete Thinker.
https://thecomplethinker.wordpress.com/2020/
03/16/coronavirus-is-just-natural-
selection/?fbclid=IwAR2VtcLSU0mxSDe2dPlCqm
ZYpjcDapHu4fGR0j_