And we are back in lockdown...lockdown number 3...just wish I could come up with a catchy tag line for it, although don't sequels tend to get worse the more they do?!
Well technically the lockdown starts at 0:01 past midnight tonight...or rather tomorrow...despite the inference from the message delivered by our Prime Minister last night that it was immediate. And apparently it has to be voted on in parliament but that can't happen until tomorrow by which time we will already be in it - confused yet?
And then add into the mix that pre-school's and other early years settings can continue to open but schools must close (except for children of 'critical workers' or those who are vulnerable)...but if you are a school nursery looking after the same age groups as say a pre-school you can make your own determination as to whether to open or not. Okay so is that not one rule for one and one rule for another? See I'm still confused!
Well my work day was pretty much a standard work day; plenty of admin to catch up on being only the second day back after the Christmas break and the first day touching the admin side of things. We had a few parents who have decided not to send their children into pre-school because of the lockdown and that is completely understandable.
I do feel at the moment like I am living in a very strange world where the only word I'm 'allowed' to believe and follow is that of the government and the mainstream media...the media that is being controlled by an Ofcom edict that says they are only allowed to report the government's mantra and not present any opposing argument. Freedom of speech anyone? Is this not censorship? Therefore by inference if I dare suggest an alternative view point I am chastised or made to feel like a complete outsider. Why do I feel that it is wrong to question the narrative that we are being fed? Why should I be made to feel this way? Is it wrong to worry that the measures we are being put under feel more and more draconian as time goes by? Other more authoritarian countries don't seem to be going to the extremes that we are.
I am not denying that we are in a particularly unusual time and that there is a horrid virus out there, that for some it is extremely horrible and for others, unfortunately, has been even worse. There is no denying that at all. But has it been...is it being...handled in the best way? Has the full cost of lockdown been taken into consideration; the effect on the economy, the effect on small businesses, on the arts, hospitality and travel industries, on the rates of domestic violence, on child abuse, on suicide rates, on mental health, on deaths by other illnesses such as heart attacks, strokes, missed treatments or reluctance to 'bother' our health service. There are so many unanswered questions for so many people and while there are people out there trying to ask those questions and are researching and delving into the science they are not getting the voice they deserve.
I don't know who is right and who is wrong but surely we should be able to hear all sides of an argument before we decide blindly who to follow but all we seem to get at the moment is the one argument that those in power want us to hear.
I am sure there are those who read this will think I have lost the plot for not following blindly everything we are told. But all I am advocating is looking a bit further than the end of your nose, taking the time to read, and accept, more than the same old news source everyday, to expand your knowledge and horizons and not be so blinkered. To accept that opinions and knowledge can change, and should change as evidence is presented and that it's okay to admit that view points once held were maybe not quite right and that you have changed your mind when presented with other, more solid evidence.
At the end of the day all we need is transparency; information to back up the narrative on all sides. Surely the more we know, the better we can understand and the greater we can trust those in power.
I want to believe that those in charge know what they are doing and know why they are doing what they are doing but as their plan changes from day to day, and hour to hour it becomes increasingly difficult to trust what we are being told. Treat us like the intelligent (or semi-intelligent) adults that we are and tell us it warts and all; the more we know the greater the chance that we will follow the rules or whatever it may be that we need to do to get out of this hole and get our lives back.
At the end of the day all we want is what we had this time last year; the freedom to live the way we want to live, to go where we want, when we want and how we want...is that really too much to ask, or hope, for...to get our lives back?
Whatever you are doing, wherever you maybe, take care and hopefully we can all get through this together and let's hope we can all come out the other side stronger, and perhaps changed for the better.
xx
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