Coronavirus – Diplomatic Detachment and Decline (Or How I Learned to Love the Isolation)

Cover Image Source: NY Times

The phrase ‘Since the war’ has been thrown around a lot recently. It exemplifies the British attitude to times of crisis. It illustrates the country’s opportunism and ambition. In its way then, it’s very Johnson-esque… vastly overplayed to undermine the tragedy not just of human life but the gross and criminal misconduct of those at the apex of power. The crisis and poor response by the government in comparison to other European powers has already cost so much for so many. Within this, a steady stream of rhetoric has emerged from the dug-out of 10 Downing Street, a wet whimper of a message failing to support frontline staff and pump greater finances into the economy.

The U.K. suffers in much the same way the United States does, silently monetising the treatment for Coronavirus, giving those who can afford to spend thousands on healthcare a lifeline at the behest others at the opposite end of society, who die in their homes without the care and attention they need. The guidance to stay inside only goes so far Mr Johnson. We can’t afford to be admitted to St Thomas’s hospital and get the treatment we need. We’re expected to take as many precautions as possible with the little resources we have while people at the top of society enjoy the abundance of resources and ignore the needs of the many. In short, welcome to post-Brexit Britain.

I am not a socialist. 5 words with enough political emphasis and variety of implications that would make your eyes water. Nonetheless, I am not for the financial castration of the wealthy, especially those that worked to earn it. What I am against is the hypocrisy of those such as the Scottish Minister for health who was caught travelling between her two homes on several occasions over the last couple of weeks. It’s a big problem that can only get worse if new political figures don’t step forward and guide the future of the country as it needs to be toward a bright and new future.

Political actors attempting to set the example has become one of the great clichés of 21^st century politics. They broadly dictate what they want with a flippant wave of their wrist and dismiss any criticism as either ‘fake news’ or attempt to simply skirt their way around questions regarding their taxes, their private life or any other vulnerabilities which would otherwise leave them out to dry.

If this crisis has emphasised anything, it’s the need for increasingly active members of society to step forward into the political frame and begin what will be a long, hard and trying push toward a society driven by progress and ambition, not by the lust and greed of those with off-shore bank accounts and weird Land Rovers which inexplicably always have aftermarket LED headlights.

While I make light of this, I fundamentally believe if our society can pull together in the way that I have first-hand seen it do during the crisis, to similarly push those in the hot seats of politics into driving the change we want to see for the benefit of generations to come, we can make real progress in this country through the coming decades.

As a university student, it’s very easy to make these blasé statements of intent towards fixing or changing society for the better. I know there will always be barriers and limitations that get in the way of what we want to achieve, but as I said, since the lockdown, I have seen and heard extraordinary stories of people coming together to create more closely embroidered communities intent on keeping one another safe and happy. From a personal perspective, I have seen my friends and peers work together to create fun, interesting and dare I say memorable(?) moments over apps like Zoom and Skype. The active nature of so many to bring joy, happiness and a sense of optimism into our homes and lives in such an uncertain period would have been unfathomable before this. It stands as a testament that we a collective can achieve as much as we can put our minds to.

In that case, why not do more? Why not build a new engineering project, write a new book or article, start actively engaging with politics now some of us have the time to do it?

Now is not the time to rest on the old. Now is not the time to compare this crisis to those that have come before. Losing those around us needs to be a wake-up call. It’s time to put age old feuds, anxieties and hates to bed, to start putting those who hurt or lied to us, out of minds for good. It’s time to start something new. Small or big, for the many or the few, even if means trying to do one more rep, one more design, even if it means trying to get up after a bout of depression, now is the time to do it.