Putting perspective into our experience of the pandemic
As we face at least another four weeks of lockdown the phrase “worse things happen at sea” springs to mind. I first heard that as the title of a book by married couple Sarah Watts and William McInnes, about their mix of good and tough times while Watts was dying from cancer towards the end of her too short but satisfyingly happy life. That phrase is one that I have often used since, both for myself and to comfort others in difficulties.
And it is particularly relevant now, I think, to Australians in the intermittent grip of waves of variants of COVID-19 and accompanying lockdowns. There is no doubt that many are suffering in various ways, including emotionally, economically, and with work and academic challenges. And there have been some tragic deaths. All of this is undeniably awful.
Nonetheless, we are still in one of the safest countries one could be in, during this pandemic. And we need to recognise that there are many countries that are so very much worse off. Most obviously are those in which the Delta virus is rampant and the resources to deal with it miniscule. But on another level – for me – is the senseless escalation of killings by the Taliban as it marches inexorably towards dominating an Afghanistan in which women will once again become chattels and second-class citizens. What on earth must it be like to be living there right now? Or in any one of the other countries where the pandemic is compounded by the continuingly murderous internal conflicts of varying degrees, from Yemen with its famine-ridden death tolls to the domination of drug cartels in Mexico?
At a different level, but also very disturbing is the USA, again a country as divided as it was in the lead-up to its civil war. Now, it seems that there can be no meeting of the minds with the irreconcilables being divided between the rational and those who believe in Trump and the right to bear arms.
Meanwhile, my friend in Hungary is constantly sending me emails about the newest and worst abuses of democratic rights by its entrenched and nepotistic leader, Viktor Orban.
So, let us appreciate the country that we are living in. But, at the same time, let us challenge a shabby government that is more interested in saving face than our beloved and unique Barrier Reef, and in swapping ethical long-term governance for short-term vote-buying in the most blatant ways, from fossil fuel support in the face of dire evidence of climate change to unnecessary car parks for marginal seats.
Anne Ring ©2021