I can honestly say that living life during a pandemic has brought about interesting changes, observations and challenges.
As COVID-19 started to get a grip on the UK there was genuine panic buying, something I’ve never seen in my lifetime. There were those that were stocking up for the end of the world, toilet paper became more than a must-have, it became a symbol of achievement when you said you managed to buy some.
There were those that complained and ranted about world leaders turning the country into a Police state and taking away their nations freedom.
Then there were those that were told they should be shielded from this deadly and contagious disease, or those like President Trump calling it “The Chinese Virus” and those that deny its very existence.
Eye watering sums of money have been spent developing track and trace apps, building testing labs and keeping some in jobs that obviously will no longer exist.
I’m not a religious man, but then there are those suggesting our creator was so unhappy with humanity right now that the global crisis perhaps was caused by his fury.
Scientists tell us that in the last 100 years we have discovered how to use the earth’s resources and at the same time how to exhaust them. They say our uncontrollable consumption is failing to get a grip on renewable and sustainable sources.
Physical contact has become a symbol of defiance. It defies government lockdowns, instructions to remain socially distant and refuses to give up the very meaning of being human.
More over, as the pandemic continues you begin to ask if the price of your own liberty is worth more than the life of another. Comparisons consider the differences between moral questions, such as when is it right to take a life to save two.
Strangely we talk about collateral damage when going to war, but the cost to lives in this global pandemic are sidelined. Talk of the long term health of those that get cancer, heart disease, mental health issues and loss of life from a missed diagnosis are considered less important than the need to remain socially distant from others.. or as it is known ‘COVID secure’.
The long term damage to the economy and businesses built up over generations are being wiped out, changed or taken over.
Jobs that were once secure in industries that would always be required were suddenly as secure as a deflating raft.
Yes, this is a very strange time when everyone waits for a vaccine, where everyone knows that the right thing to do is remain isolated and cautious.
But the message becomes confusing, clarity becomes foggy, specifics become vague and rules have many interpretations.
One day the world will find normality again. Jobs, economies and all of these draconian measures will be written into the history books and taught in school.
However, right now life is not as we know it!!
