Heroes Not Zombies

There are two phrases which come to mind when I look at this photo.

“We are all in the same boat” and “everyone is paddling their own canoe”. I know, I know, this isn’t a photo of a canoe, but bear with me, this is the way my mind works.

The last time I looked at this photo, nearer to the beginning of the pandemic what I saw was the possibility of escape. I guess “running away to sea” was the phrase which popped up. Well, it turns out there’s really not been anywhere to run away to (or if there was they slammed their borders shut to stop anyone joining them).

I reckon that on multiple occasions over the course of this pandemic I’ve felt pretty baffled and unsure, just not really knowing what way it’s going to go next, and what’s the best thing to do. Maybe, in that respect, that’s still where I am. Because the new combination of mass vaccination plus exploding case numbers due to variants takes us, yet again, into “which uncharted waters” (to keep my maritime metaphor going!). In fact, yet again, it feels like the authorities are “up sh*t creek without a paddle)

But back to my first thoughts looking at this image again today.

We ARE all in the same boat. This virus has left no population untouched. Our interconnectedness and interdependence has never been more clear. In good ways we’ve seen really brilliant scientific collaboration in both understanding this disease and coming up with the best ways to treat the sick. In not so good ways we’ve seen how international travel has accelerated the spread and made it really hard to manage it within a single political boundary.

It’s also shone a bright light on many of the vulnerabilities and weaknesses of our global economic/social model. Those who have been hardest have been the elderly, the long term sick and the poor. It’s highlighted the precarious nature of employment, inequality and injustice. It’s shown us some of the frailties of the health care systems, of the care systems and of a vast range of support systems. It’s even highlighted our poor nutrition, our poor relationship with the rest of Nature and poor education.

In the midst of all this we’ve seen countless acts of compassion, kindness and generosity. Countless acts of courage and sacrifice.

But we’ve seen way too much greed and selfishness too.

Which brings me to the second thought of each of us “paddling our own canoe”. Because we’ve been faced yet again with issues of personal responsibility and autonomy. We’ve been challenged by restrictions and controls which seem to wrest all autonomy from us and place the power in the hands of unknown others.

There’s the two sided coin of authoritarianism and conspiracy theories with established authorities seeking to impose their idea of The One Truth and hound and silence any alternative voices. Authorities which act in secret and issue false statements which undermines trust. It’s a powerful, disturbing cocktail which shows deep fractures in our societies.

At one level I believe we are all responsible for own decisions and that difference and variety are healthy. At another level it’s clear that a pandemic is a community disorder which cannot be solved by everyone acting as if only their personal choices matter.

It’s tricky isn’t it? Maybe the best thing to do is to stay humble and critical while doing what seems best for each of us, all living together. Keep the compassion and the kindness flowing and stay flexible enough to adapt.

I guess even if we are all sailing our own boats, we’re sailing them across the same sea.