Everybody knows that the plague is coming

Everybody knows that the plague is coming
Everybody knows that it's moving fast. (Leonard Cohen)

Every evening I hear news of more casualties - civilian and military - in Iraq. I often wonder when this senseless killing will end; when, if ever, will life return to normal in Iraq? Will the Iraqi people ever again know peace and security in their own country ... the kind of peace and security that we in Australia take for granted ?

The situation in Iraq reminds me of Albert Camus' novel "The Plague". The story of "The Plague" begins in the Algerian town of Oran, where life goes on as normal ... normal until a plague begins to strike. The first sign of the plague is when Dr. Rieux (the main character) steps on a dead rat early one morning. Soon, rats appear in their thousands, only to die. These rats carry the plague and, very soon, thousands of Oran's citizens begin to get sick and die. A sanitary squad is set up that moves the sick to the hospital and the dead to the crematorium. This is certainly a very gruesome story. In fact, the story paints an interesting picture of human nature ... the heroism, cowardice, despair, loneliness, faith and greed. In the end, the plague disappeared - almost as quickly as it appeared, and the cries of joy are heard in the town. But there is a final warning: there will always be plagues to threaten humanity, and the best we can do is to face them with honour and dignity. The following are the final words in the novel:

"To state things quite simply what we learn in a time of pestilence: that there are more things to admire in men than to despise. None the less, he knew that the tale he had to tell could not be one of a final victory. It could be only the record of what had had to be done, and what assuredly would have to be done again in the never ending fight against terror and its relentless onslaughts, despite their personal afflictions, by all who, while unable to be saints but refusing to bow down to pestilences, strive their utmost to be healers. And, indeed, as he listened to the cries of joy rising from the town, Rieux remembered that such joy is always imperiled. He knew what those jubilant crowds did not know but could have learned from books: that the plague bacillus never dies or disappears for good; that it can lie dormant for years and years in furniture and linen-chests; that it bides its time in bedrooms, cellars, trunks, and bookshelves; and that perhaps the day would come when, for the bane and the enlightening of men, it would rouse up its rats again and send them forth to die in a happy city."

"Plagues" have appeared throughout history; modern-day Iraq is just one example. World War II is probably the most obvious and, indeed, Camus lived through the Nazi presence in France. Others include the genocide in Rwanda and the reign of terror in 18th century France. The Plague (i.e. evil) persists and can strike at any time.
Camus probably believed that evil is an inherent part of human nature. Here is a quote from "The Plague":

"What's natural is the microbe. All the rest - health, integrity, purity (if you like) - is a product of the human will, of vigilance that must never falter. The good man, the man who infects hardly anyone, is the man who has the fewest lapses of attention."

In "The Plague", the rats are the carriers of the plague that can strike at any time, just as political and religious organisations can be carriers of evil; once the plague appears, there is nothing that can be done to stop it from running its course.

" ... on this earth there are pestilences and there are victims, and it's up to us, so far as possible, not to join forces with the pestilences."

Although some might say that humanity is the pestilence.
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