Do You Understand?

The recent news headlines have been nothing short of dramatic with the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus stealing the show, and the shenanigans of some of our leaders coming to light at a difficult time aren’t helping matters at all.

Many have asked questions about why or if the recent headlines highlighting fear and panic are justified. We hear phrases like the NHS is overwhelmed and most hospitalised people are non-vaccinated.

Restrictions and rules for the double and triple vaccinated are the same as if they never got vaccinated begging some of the questions and the negativity that people now feel when they hear about proposed measures.

While the entire nation was gripped with fear last year, the law makers responsible for making us take the matter seriously had a party that evidently broke the rules they imposed on the nation.

People have debated whether it is right or not but another angle to that is whether they believed their own narratives. Many of the political leaders and their spokespersons went to ivy league colleges and universities and we presume them to be smart, wise and intelligent.

We elected them supposedly from amongst the best of those who have our best interest at heart. Question then is, can they have our best interest at heart whilst not caring for their own and immediate families’ best interests?

If we were in such danger and they cared enough to put in strict measures to save us from doom, why did they not care about saving themselves?

Is it that they didn’t care about their own wellbeing and if so, how can they lead us if they are careless about themselves?

Or could it be that they know the risks of the virus and they are telling us the absolute truth based on what the experts tell them but they don’t fully understand the implications? If they fully understood the risks, would they have taken a chance of having a party?

I think of my friend who works as an A&E nurse for the NHS and her experiences of seeing people struggle for breathe as they try to survive the virus. She has seen more deaths than she needed to see; so for her it’s frustrating when she hears that leaders aren’t following the rules they have set up to protect her and her colleagues.

I remember the quote from Albert Einstein that says, “Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” So the question is do we and our leaders truly understand what is going on and what to do about it?

What is our responsibility with regard to this virus?

We need to move from knowing about it to understanding it and this means we need to sift through the noise to get to the truth. Leaders don’t always speak the truth and even data can be used to bamboozle the best amongst us to push any narrative.

We need to look at the facts about the Omicron variant; the doctors at the forefront of it tell us the symptoms they have seen so far are milder; so do we need the level of panic, hysteria and headlines predicting loads of death?

If the headlines are justified, we need the reasons to be better explained so the average person and leader can understand it enough to make them do the right thing even when no one is watching.

What responsibilities do our leaders have?

Leaders need to inspire trust in their leadership, we need to believe their words and see them follow their own rules as a minimum. Leaders need to be more accountable and call each other to higher standards rather than attempt to defend indefensible actions.

They need to move from knowing to truly understanding the challenges that this virus poses and make decisions from a place of understanding and integrity. This means there will be no unjustified fear mongering, we will understand the true risks and be fully persuaded to take the right actions.

As new measures come to effect in the UK today, we have a responsibility to keep ourselves, others, our wider society and the entire world safe. This is a global pandemic and we have seen that localized measures aren’t enough to deal with it.

We can’t remain under indefinite lockdown as it is not sustainable for our economy and the mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of our people. Something has to give and the starting point is moving from knowledge to understanding. We can all be responsible, take care of ourselves and make the right decisions.

This isn’t a debate about vaccination, lockdown or mask usage. It is simply asking the question, ‘what do we need to understand about this crisis that we don’t, just yet, and what do we need to do differently to get the desired outcomes of a safer, happier, saner, and healthier world?’

Thanks for reading my post. Stay curious and be safe.