It is easy to complain about the changes imposed on our lives and the realities made clear as the COVID-19 pandemic reaches its one-year point.
In March 2020, many often-overlooked facts were driven abruptly into our lives; the one made abundantly clear was that we are in this together. We must support each other as we grow from this experience so as to improve our wellbeing conditions and those of others.
So much has been made evident over the past 12 months that it is impossible to reference all within this article. If you will join me and reflect over our COVID-19 year, I am certain you too will bring positives and realizations to mind. That request is being made with compassion to the many who have dealt with or are dealing with the virus via their living conditions, health requirements and/or employment circumstances.
What will be the effects on our region’s or Canada’s history? We are at a juncture in the world’s existence that will enable future generations to look back and examine how communities, regions and countries endured and advanced (I hope) as they dealt with this viral predator. I believe that COVID-19 will be another benchmark for the world’s development as were the industrial revolution, previous vaccines, space explorations, computer developments, and the list could goes on, for the present and further back into history.
It is amazing what most of us are now doing that would have been unheard of 13 months ago. I have adapted well to wearing a face mask to protect myself and others. My social distancing, albeit not as stringent as at present, has always being a practice of mine. The COVID-19 sanitation strategies now give me concern because of the risk of creating problems due to the elimination of healthy germs and the possible overabundance of chemical sprays that might introduce respiratory ailments to those within our midst.
Another of this pandemic’s disclosures has been similar to the fictional Wizard of Oz situation where the curtain was pulled back and truths revealed. COVID-19 has exposed inadequacies throughout Canada’s population requiring our immediate attention such as economic inequalities, food security, mental health challenges and marginalized communities.
How our governments spend our tax dollars should also be paramount within our considerations. There are requirements existing for our regions and throughout Canada that will need financial inputs. Consultative methods need to be enhanced so as to give as many participants as possible their opportunities to be part of those discussions and their outcomes.
A sad reality is that our political system has developed along adversarial lines with groups and regions pitted against others. That truism needs to be addressed and consideration must be given to policies that benefit as many as possible and not adhere to cultural discrimination, regional biases, tribal mentalities or societal exclusions.
COVID-19 has dramatically proven the truth that as we work through this current pandemic and prepare for the next health crisis, it is vital that we pull together for the betterment of all. History will display our successes or failures and remember us for what we did or did not achieve.
Ray Bates
Guysborough