In cities around the world, citizens have been protesting against the ‘draconian’ anti-Covid measures enforced upon them, whilst the rest of us have criticised their actions as being selfish. And yet the oldies amongst us remember a time when children who played out in the dirt all day built up an immense resistance in their white corpuscles to fight all known germs. In fact, mothers used to host chicken pox parties so that toddlers could catch it and build such resistance early. With the ‘flu, it mutates regularly. The only way to resist is to catch it and go to bed so our wondrous bodies can build specific immunity. Today, as we stay home hiding from Covid, we all think the virus will soon be gone. But hiding from an invading ‘army’ never encourages it to go away. It will stay there waiting for us to come out of hiding, ready to attack again. So, what’s the answer? Either global, regular vaccines for everyone for the rest of your life or follow Sweden’s normal-life model where, although more people have caught Covid, importantly, fewer citizens per capita have died from it.
23rd August 2020
BC (before Covid) the English had a laissez-faire attitude to life. Live and let live. Not any more. Now I see self-appointed captains everywhere, shouting at others if they’re not wearing a mask, even though often they themselves aren’t either! Blaming others is everywhere. BC, parents understood that sometimes it’s all right to fail. Failure helps to not only teach children to recognise what they’re good or not good at, but also builds resilience for a difficult adult world. I remember US talent shows where mothers would screech at Simon Cowell for having the temerity to tell their adored child, for the first time in his life, that he doesn’t have enough talent in that field. It’s a mistake to give everyone an A*. Nothing to do with working hard; all to do with identifying individual talent. An important lesson in life.
16th August 2020
What a wonderful VJ Day BBC programme last night, honouring all the brave veterans who gave so much 75 years ago. What was significant about their sacrifice was how 20 countries came together from Africa, Europe and India against a common foe, Japan. Didn’t matter whether they were Sikhs, Hindus, Muslim or Christian; the 14th army recognised what had to be done. As they merged in the jungles and mud of Burma, Japan had already invaded large swathes of S. Asia and was massing to attack India. Like Hitler in the west, there are times when murderous countries, intent on taking by force other nations, have to be stopped by any means to protect the rest of the world. As Prince William urged the public last night on TV to learn the lessons of the past, how lovely to see all those old veterans given the respect they so rightly deserve. As they so poignantly said: We gave our today so that you can enjoy tomorrow. Time people today gave more respect to the ‘forgotten army’ loyalty of older citizens.
9th August 2020
The world is so unstable. How I wish democracy would prevail worldwide. When that enormous blast happened in Beirut last Tuesday, fingers immediately pointed to perceived aggressors. Yet, as so often happens in life, ultimately incompetence at home was to blame. But in the immediate aftermath of the explosion, other factors emerged equally damaging. When other countries offered desperately-needed assistance, unbelievably some were turned down. “Help only accepted from ‘friendly’ countries,” said Lebanon. So, when neighbouring Israel offered immediate treatment at state-of-the-art hospitals just over the border, their magnanimous gesture was rebuffed. Instead, Lebanon sent those terribly-injured people hundreds of miles to Cyprus for treatment. Friendship is a wonderful thing but we often don’t recognise who our friends really are until times of tragedy. Never reject the hand of friendship whenever and from wherever it comes.
2nd August 2020
Since my birth post-war, I can’t remember a time when the world’s been in such crisis. From the smallest island territories to today’s super powers, the story’s the same. Disaster. The Philippines is losing the battle, Australia’s Victoria yesterday declared a state of emergency, Melbourne under curfew, Covid 19 has roared back in Europe, cases rising yet again in the virus’s birthplace - China, and in the US, response to the virus’s deadly surge seems to be driven more by the coming November election - Republicans dealing with it one way, Democrats responding differently. What’s wrong with people? Why is everyone reacting in such an insular way? During WWII, countries liaised, disregarding their internal, political struggles to work together to fight the common foe. But today’s threat is much greater. The world’s mix of free democracies and repressive, totalitarian states is actively hindering a common approach. For the good of the entire planet, it’s time nations stopped concentrating on their individual perceived ranking in the world and worked together as one.
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