Dokumentární film: Když přichází mor –⁠ zákonitosti provázející epidemie v průběhu staletí (celý film)

The Iliad, one of the oldest pieces of literature, begins with a plague. The fleet in view he twanged his deadly bow, and hissing fly the feathered fates below. On mules and dogs the infection first began, and last the vengeful arrows fixed in man. Stories about great change often begin with a plague. No matter how vast your kingdom or how tall your monuments, disease and infection weakened economies, armies, morale, and ultimately brought the demise of even civilizations. Let my people go, so that they may worship me. For this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you, and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. In story after story, once a human being has been humbled, and the gods and their higher way of life are appeased, the plague is lifted. Notice just how clear that sounds. The plague is lifted. There's more to this plague than simply what's under a microscope. It's part of something bigger. There is unease and unrest even before the sickness spreads. Ancient Rome suffered several deadly plagues. The first of these arrived at a time associated with tyranny and moral corruption. Nero's reign. Nero falsely accused and executed with the most exquisite punishments those people called Christians. They were killed by dogs by having the hides of beasts attached to them. Or they were nailed to crosses or set aflame. When the daylight passed away, they were used as nighttime lamps. Tyranny, madness, depravity. This is how history remembers him. Rome rebuilt to even greater heights, but even the Pax Romana could not withstand the plague. Unprecedented peace and prosperity came to an end when disease killed up to 2,000 a day and wiped out a third of the population in many areas. Plague only hastened what was already occurring. Life was cheap in this declining empire, and cruelty abounded, and the ideals, values, and institutions that brought the empire to its peak were all but forgotten. On my arrival in Aquileia, the plague attacked more destructively than ever before, so the emperors fled immediately to Rome with a small force of men. For the rest of us, survival became very difficult for a long time. Most indeed died, the effects of the plague being exacerbated by the fact that all this was occurring in the middle of winter. And less than a century later, the plague of Cyprian ravaged what was left of it. Up to 5,000 died per day. If Rome's great mistake was to persecute Christianity, then what is our mistake today? An empire died, but some things are not so easily extinguished. Generation after generation, century after century, millennium after millennium, plagues are part of the human experience. Civilizations come and go, but plagues always return. In China's highly developed civilization, people always knew that plagues were the will of heaven. During the first nine years, all went well. Grain harvests were large. The people were happy with their work. Doors were left unlocked at night. That was the period of first abundance. Another nine years of prosperity followed. That was the second period of abundance. Nine years more, the fields continued to flourish. That was the period of third abundance. During that time, the people enjoyed great happiness. Who could have foreseen that extreme joy would give birth to sorrow? In ancient China, plague was a prelude to change. When a good king can reproach himself, the land prospers. When a king puts the blame on others, the country declines. When rulers became cruel and corrupt, natural disasters followed. Famine, rebellion, and destruction would bring each of these once-great and powerful dynasties to a close. The Han Dynasty is considered a golden age, but its last years tell a different story. Massacres, puppet emperors, and the evil warlord Dong Zhuo incited war and rebellion. He would publicly torture his enemies for entertainment in gruesome ways, such as cutting out their tongues and eyes and burning them alive at banquets. The villain Dong Zhuo has robbed the empire and murdered the emperor. Heaven and earth will not bless him. The gods and men alike will not accept him. That period saw one of the worst plagues in China's imperial history. At its peak, the Han Dynasty population exceeded 60 million. After plague and war ravaged the last years of the dynasty, the population shrank to only 23 million by the time the dynasty fell. Out in the field are bones from dead bull. I travel 300 miles without hearing one rooster crow. The question in everyone's mind is, how could this happen? Why now? And why us? Many people feel the change is coming. Many people feel that we are at a turning point. Powerful empires in history have been brought to their knees by plague and infection. It's not far off to expect that history is repeating itself. Here, truth can be harder to find than treatment. In China, ground zero for the pandemic, people are trapped. The party has celebrated the dead as martyrs of the Chinese Communist Party. In reality, they are the victims of a cruel regime. It's a regime forged in bloodshed, and it's never washed that blood off its hands. Its only goal is to sustain its power. That people have no dignity, they have no value, and that they can do anything they want to them. And I sometimes worry that human life in China today has no value whatsoever. Spiritual believers of all faiths are persecuted. I was taken to a special room and placed in a high chair. Bands held my arms and legs in place and tightened when they pressed a button. The guards put a helmet on my shaved head. Each time I was electrocuted, my whole body would shake violently. Why? Simply because the Chinese Communist Party cannot allow people to believe God is higher than the party. Long live Xi Jinping. Anyone who could not memorize a book of slogans and rules within 14 days would be denied food or beaten. Would be a million and a half people detained in concentration camps in Xinjiang right now. If the world had stood up and stopped what was happening to Falun Gong 10 years ago, not a chance. I was a young surgeon. We come to a place called Western Mountain Execution Ground. More than 100 armed police, they were there. Chief Surgeon said, get the liver and the two kidneys. When I cut through, blood still come out. That means this person still alive. We couldn't say no because there's no way you can say no. Killing your own citizens who believe in truth, compassion, forbearance. You are killing these people for their organs? What outrageous behavior. Are you a civilized government? Are you worse than Hitler? Are you worse than Stalin? They're tortured to death until they renounce, or rounded up in concentration camps to be killed for their organs, which are sold on the foreign transplant market. It's inevitable that justice will prevail. However, it's our choice whether that happens sooner rather than later. Can we allow evil to write this chapter of human history? Tang Dynasty Emperor Taizong said, the rise and fall of empires may be understood by observing history. There is a lot of wisdom that has been passed down through the ages. Humanity has prevailed because we value integrity and compassion, human dignity and justice. But these values cannot survive under a tyrannical regime. This regime's influence reaches into nations all around the world, and it has spread something more sinister than even the virus. The recent pandemic cast a harsh light on reality, and we see how the whole world has aided this evil regime. When things are chaotic to the extreme, order must be restored. These dark times are not without hope. Though all of us come from different countries, cultures, and walks of life, we share universal values. We can still summon our compassion and integrity. We can still uphold justice and human dignity. We have a say in how the rest of this story plays out, and whether we leave our next generations with a brighter future.