Shots depicting life behind a mask this week. No aspect of living has escaped it. This is our life. But we only wear them for one reason. So that one day we won’t have to. I should say upfront I am categorically not an anti-masker. They are essential to halt the spread of the virus but I am anti-mask in the sense that I don’t like wearing one. I want to get past this stage because this bit sucks. This is no way to live so we can’t make this our reality just because we can’t reign in our behaviour. We are too selfish and too undisciplined. We want it over but aren’t prepared to do what is necessary for that to happen. You can bang on about freedoms all you like but this ain’t freedom. This is the opposite. We are trapped in a prison of our own making. And we need it to end.
I have a friend who lives in Thailand ( Hi Nat!) and it pains me to see that their society has effectively returned to normal. The virus is behind them and they have now moved on. Live music events are back, social distancing is over, their previous existence has returned..and all because they did what was necessary. They knew that extreme measures were required to eliminate it in order for normal life to return. And it has.
And the reason we are still up to our ears in this Corona crap in Europe and in America is because we ‘ve all been a bit shit about the whole thing since the off. Both our governments response and our own slackness, driven largely by a total lack of concern for anyone other than ourselves and our inner circle. We have all been focussed primarily on how it has affected us as individuals, how it impacted our own lives, what we have personally lost. It seems we cannot see beyond our own story of woe when clearly the only way to beat this is to treat it is a societal problem we are part of and have a unified response. We cannot move forward on the virus or the climate until we see the human race as one big community. Right now it feels we just see ourselves as single entities all crammed into the same place all fighting separately not together. And as Yoda said to Luke in Empire:
“and that is why you fail…”
( been a while since i used a star wars metaphor but bang into the Mandalorian at mo and it has awoken my inner fan boy, fyi and all..)