Day 4

Subject: Day 4

As each morning we are thrust into the front line of last nights Covid 19 battle for the lives of the unfortunate people who had been too close to someone carrying the virus or had picked it up by touching the surface of something on which the virus lay in wait like a bear trap in the undergrowth. Lives brought short by the unseen killer which lies in wait for all of us as the pandemic rolls out across the nation. Shops and offices become no go areas except for the unwary, of whom there are still surprisingly many prepared to chance their arm in a flagrant disavowal of every bit of advice coming from that segment of society who in the past we would have sought our cue. In today's wall to wall information blanket we are bombarded with advice on what to do and yet such is the distrust of large parts of society for their betters, the sight of a politician flanked by experts makes us run for cover.  I know people who resolutely refuse to believe that the pandemic is for real even as the death toll rises. These are intelligent people who feel it's an event being overplayed, not quite fake news but part of the establishments incessant need to keep us on edge and malleable.
Of course the executive have done themselves no favours by previously describing this virus as being tame, something which if allowed would run through the populous and build some sort of herd immunity but ever mindful of their political future, overnight they did a U turn and ordered a close down of all none essential industry and the self quarantine of virtually all citizens. It's like listening to a friend who has lost a packet on a horse he had asserted was a sure bet but now the story is, the ground was too heavy, the jockey positioned the horse badly, or the trainer had thrown the race to get better odds at the next meeting. All could be true and only goes to show that advice is only as good as hindsight. Our hindsight at the moment is that we were let down by the posturing of the political elite and especially let down, the medical staff who have to go in to fight the contagion with one arm tied behind their back. Even as I write the ordering of essential equipment has still not been given and firms are still awaiting the confirmation of orders we also missed the opportunity to purchase equipment such as ventilators and protective gear by dither. Now the prices have trebled and the stocks depleted. If this were commerce we would be heading for bankruptcy.
So whilst the young chafe at their inability to go to the pub or have a collected rave in a barn in the countryside they still roam the streets angry at the imposition of some sort of constrain to their lives. Constraint is a forgotten adjective, to be forced into doing something goes against their concept of their rights, their whole raison d'etre, the sanctity  of the individual and his or her right to do what ever comes to mind is now challenged by an authoritarian diktat, stay at home. The image of young men flocking to the registration stations on Kitcheners call "Your Country Needs You" is far gone, as is the social glue which bound a young person to their family and it's values. We are all individuals and must leave the familiar to seek our fortune this is what is important today and the inconvenience of a virus epidemic can't take precedence over an innate narcissism which rules current thinking today.