By Sally Barnes
The virus deniers and those of us who are not taking basic pandemic precautions are like the people who considered World War II someone else’s battle and left it to others to beat the tyrant and secure our freedom and our future.
On Remembrance Day we were reminded of the legions of young Canadians who signed up and went overseas to defend our way of life. More than 45,000 never came home. Even more returned damaged—some for the rest of their lives.
You gotta ask how that crisis would play out today.
Our healthcare officials worry that “pandemic fatigue” is setting in already.
Pity that the chaps in the squalid trenches couldn’t have declared, “Well, I’ve had enough of this crap. Stuff this #^$&* war. I’m going home.”
Have we become so comfortable and entitled that we aren’t willing to sacrifice for the sake of our families and friends and the wider community? Have we become so cynical that we don’t believe what is happening around us and scorn those trying to help us out of this mess? Do we actually believe the conspiracy theories that this is some kind of hoax? Is it too damned much to expect people to wear a mask or stay home or postpone family celebrations until conditions improve?
The great new hope is that vaccines will be available in the new year. But early research indicates that many Americans and Canadians may refuse the vaccine.(Get ready for scare tactics by the anti-vaxxers while others will hesitate to be convinced of the vaccines’ safety.)
I am staggered by the number of people who have bought into some crazy cult that refuses to accept the reality that we are facing the biggest health crisis in a century. It’s here. It’s growing. Stop pretending that it isn’t.
Across “the world’s longest undefended border” just to the south of us, the COVID death toll is 250,000 and climbing.
Italy is today back to where it was last spring with a second wave of the coronavirus sweeping the country and one in 60 Italians testing positive with the virus.
The World Health Organization now estimates 51.5 million cases globally.
The so-called Spanish flu of 1918 that claimed 50,000 Canadian lives caught our ancestors uninformed, unprepared, and ill-equipped. But today’s high-speed communications and scientific advancement reveal the reality for all to see:
- Exhausted healthcare workers and first responders.
- Makeshift hospitals in community centers and morgues in hockey rinks to deal with the dying and dead.
- Public officials and faith in democracy under attack in the polarized struggle to balance economic and healthcare priorities.
From our prime minister down to leaders in our smallest communities, officials are struggling to keep their hands off the panic button while too many people think that we are somehow immune to this worldwide phenomenon. This, despite mounting evidence.
For example, mental health emergencies are on the rise and thousands of surgeries and other procedures have been postponed as our healthcare system prepares for the worst.
In communities everywhere, shops and restaurants have closed—many of them forever. Owners lost their battle to pay the rent and taxes and other expenses. Despite various government emergency funding, many other places of business are hanging by a thread and won’t make it through the winter when we add to the mix factors like heating costs and decreasing business.
It’s heartbreaking to see businesses shuttered. The closed signs often mean a lifetime of hard work wiped out. Lest we think we won’t all suffer the consequences of those closures, think again. These shops and restaurants are the heart of our communities. In some cases, generations of our families have shopped there. We went to school with their kids. Attended the same hockey games and places of worship. Supported the same good causes.
Most people would be shocked to learn how much municipal taxes these businesses pay. Municipalities can’t operate on borrowed money the way the federal and provincial governments do. With less money available from commercial tax revenues, municipalities large and small are already struggling and will have no choice but to cut services or increase taxes on the rest of us.
And as Canadians, we and our children and grandchildren will all have to sacrifice to repay the huge national debt mounting daily to pay the costs of fighting this pandemic.
Unfortunately, there is even much more than our finances, our health, and our lives at stake in this battle.
History teaches us that times of crisis and desperation can lead societies to tragic outcomes. Populists eager to pander to and incite our worst instincts can smell political opportunity a mile away. In the extreme, think Germany circa 1930.
There is considerable research that shows respect and support for democracy itself is fragile these days. Studies show a majority of young people are quite unconvinced that it is the best form of governance.
Blame that on social media and the misinformation and conspiracy theories it spawns, political leadership that often falls short of vision and high standards, outdated and ineffective institutions, inequality and the ever-widening gap between the obscenely rich and the obscenely poor—or all the above and more.
It is helpful to recall Churchill’s assertion that despite all of its shortcomings, democracy is still the best of all governance options. Just ask those who have lived under the tyranny of despots and dictatorships the world over.
In these challenging times we all carry a heavy burden of responsibility—especially those in public office and in healthcare leadership.
It is not for the faint of heart.
We can only hope we have the wisdom and courage of those earlier generations who faced crises that seemed insurmountable at the time.
Only time will tell.
Sally Barnes has enjoyed a distinguished career as a writer, journalist and author. Her work has been recognized in a number of ways, including receiving a Southam Fellowship in Journalism at Massey College at the University of Toronto. A self-confessed political junkie, she has worked in the back-rooms for several Ontario premiers. In addition to a number of other community contributions, Sally Barnes served a term as president of the Ontario Council on the Status of Women. She is a former business colleague of Doppler’s Hugh Mackenzie and lives in Kingston, Ontario. You can find her online at sallybarnesauthor.com
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Bill Wright says
An excellent read!
One has to wonder what might have happened to our south under a different leader………
Susan Godfrey says
Thank you Ms. Barnes! Your candour is refreshing in this confusing time of bureaucratic doublespeak which did not start, in my opinion, with Covid but long before. I’m hoping that the time of “post truth” is coming to an end whereby the purveyors of anti science rhetoric and conspiracy theories just stop: won’t happen but having the courage to call them out before another pandemic, of the information kind, takes hold. We are all responsible for being responsible to ourselves and each other. You’re so correct when you say that we citizens of the world, wherever we are planted, are here to help each other. I am still hopeful that we are evolving in that direction as we have in past challenges. My final thought: perhaps those who don’t believe Covid 19 is real should enlist to help out all the doctors, nurses, respiratory specialists and p.s.w’s and see how they feel after that. Can’t happen, of course, but that would change some rigid mindsets.
BJ BOLTAUZER says
Brilliant analyses of the sorry situation. Thank you very much.
It is unfortunate, however, that the morons do not read. The morons who put their selfish illusionary individual rights and freedoms ahead of the benefits of the wider community.
During the great wars, people sacrificed not only their comforts but their lives. For the good of all. Especially in Europe. There were food shortages, there were rations. But nobody grumbled because the holidays were not celebrated lavishly, as usual, nobody grumbled because they could not party, or because they could not gather in large numbers as before. It took 5 years to get back to semi-normal. Food rations continued for longer. But everybody put up with discomforts, for the good and safety of the whole community, which trumped their own individual comforts and desires.
Well, as we can see, the selfish morons cannot do their bit even to the very basic minimum such as wearing a mask and keeping distance.
BJ Boltauzer
Karen Wehrstein says
Thank you Ms. Barnes for this clarion call.
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You wrote: “There is considerable research that shows respect and support for democracy itself is fragile these days. Studies show a majority of young people are quite unconvinced that it is the best form of governance.”
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This is the most horrific statement I’ve ever read in the pages of Doppler. Sources, please? I’d like to know the extent, and in what country or countries this finding was reached. Thanks in advance.
Kathy Stapleton says
Thank you Sally Barnes!
As a child of the 60’s, having won the birth lottery that allowed me to escape any catastrophic challenges like the generations before me, I agree with your commentary 100%. I would love to share your article on my blog at work and on my face book page.
Respectfully – Kathy Stapleton
Merrill Perret says
Well said, Sally, and timely.
The number of people turning out to support an Etobicoke restaurant that is, itself, purposely defying the local health orders is disturbing. Yesterday, several unmasked “protesters” intentionally crowded close to a CBC reporter and her cameraman who were there to cover the story. Judging by their actions and stupid grins, those irresponsible hecklers seemed to think it was all a big joke.
I watch the anti-mask demonstrations in the US thinking, and hoping, that Canadians are better informed, less easily misled, and less selfish than our neighbours to the south, but sadly, apparently not.
Dawn Huddlestone, Managing Editor says
Hi Karen,
This is the source that we have, but we’ve flagged your question for Sally to see if she can provide you with others.
https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/FoaMounk-27-3.pdf
Hugh Holland says
Karen Wehrstein, a Cambridge University study concluded that a majority of millennials are disenchanted with democracy. Dr. Roberto Foa, lead author of the study says that what he calls the ‘democratic disconnect’ among the young is due to the failure of Anglo-American societies to deliver economic benefits for them, compared for example to what China has been able to do. According to Foa, the disillusionment of the young constitutes a response to their governments’ inability to address inequality and climate change.
Inequality is indeed growing in some democratic countries, especially in the USA since 1980. But apparently they don’t know that it is still nowhere near the level of inequality that exists in many developing and undemocratic countries.
Another author says democracy isn’t working for young people because cancel culture has made them scared of freedom of speech — RT Op-ed
Anyone who wants to look at today’s best balance between economic incentive and social harmony should look at the 4 Scandinavian countries. They are at or near the top of the list in equality, education, democracy, income (after health care costs are deducted), quality of life, and happiness. And they are among the lowest in terms of Debt to GDP ratio.
Alex Armstrong says
Well said. And I am encouraged by the support in the comments as well. My particular hot button on this sorry mess is that the media and government representatives seem to assume that the “second wave” was inevitable. No, it was not. The reason it arrived is that people stopped behaving themselves and stopped taking precautions. The second wave is our fault collectively, not everybody but too many people.
At lease 1 day in August across Canada there were no deaths reported, and very few cases . Then caution was thrown to the winds, including by government. It is no wonder we are where we are now.
Bob Edmunds says
Dear Ms. Barnes
Extremely well put. We can only hope that the majority of us have your common sense vision and recall.
I think is the people quietly persevering in the background that will eventually pull together for our future stability.
Then we can all try to find a way to thank our front line providers who have been our anchor.
E Jane Rutledge says
Very simplistic explanation I’m not quite sure I understand why people Don’t get the message.
Thank you for your insight Me Barnes.