Good People

"In a place where there are no good people, be a good person"

We are, right now, going through an historic time.  In the years to come, human beings will mark their lives as 'before' or 'after' this pandemic.

It is really hard to imagine this experience we are going through - although science fiction writers have been doing just that for decades.  I stopped reading post apocalyptic fiction a long time ago.  The final straw for me was John Brunner's The Sheep Look Up.  See?  Decades later I not only remember the title but the author and the nightmares I had afterwards.  

I really want to live in a world where people pay attention to the science, the medical professionals, focus on helping each other through this time.  Unfortunately there is a certain segment of the population of North America that seems bent on having their own way and I suspect that once the pandemic is over, that loud - shall we say obnoxious? - segment of society is going to try and make things go back to exactly what they were 'before'.  

Workers now deemed essential that have been underpaid will be expected to continue to struggle on wages that are too low to survive on, never mind thrive on.

Red hats are demanding that society be opened up, are staging 'rallies' that block hospitals and hurl abuse at nurses who try to make them see what they are doing is not only not helpful but down right harmful.

People who screamed about being pro-life are now screaming it is their choice to do what they will with their bodies.  Unfortunately if their bodies become infected they will spread that infection far and wide and people who were not any part of that movement will become ill.

In the US if you lose your job you pretty much lose your medical coverage.  The pressure on people who now have a job and therefore health insurance is to keep working.  In other countries who have universal health many of those same countries are scrambling trying to provide actual financial support to their citizens.  If we are not in danger of starving or dying without health care, there is a lot more incentive to stay safely at home.  But even here in Canada, there was at least one 'rally' to 'open the economy' by a very small number of (I'm trying to be charitable here) misguided folk.  

It is all extremely puzzling to me.  But then I have some idea as to how viruses work and how we are woefully unequipped to deal with this one because it is 'novel'.  It is brand new, never been seen before, therefore there is no herd immunity and medical researchers are scrambling to try to find a cure or at the very least, an effective treatment.

Nurses, doctors, hospital staff are scrambling, working long hours, being affected by the numbers of deaths they are having to deal with on a daily basis.   And yet they show up for work and try to help.  The very least that could be done is get them the PPE they need, but even that seems to be being bungled in some locations.

And in the midst of all of this...over the weekend there was a mass shooting in Nova Scotia that has killed many.  

It is inconceivable and we are left wondering why...

So I looked up at the sign that is on my kitchen wall today.  I saw it at a craft fair and requested it as that year's Christmas present.

It reminds me that I cannot control what other people do, I can only control what I do.

So today I will put my big girl panties on and I will try to be good, do good.  It is the only thing that I can do.

Sending love and light to all who need it on this sad day.