Spring at last, bringing light, warmth and new growth but this year, although the birds are singing loudly in the unusual silence – welcoming the new season, we are hiding in our homes, venturing out only fleetingly, afraid of a new invisible danger which has brought illness, death and sorrow to many around the world.
Governments in some of the richest nations like the US and the UK acted too slowly in the early days and failed to protect their populations, particularly the most vulnerable, from the impact of the novel coronavirus. The pandemic is also shining a light on government actions over recent years, particularly here in the UK, where the Conservative government’s ideological program of austerity has decimated social services, including social care and the national health service, creating an even bigger gap between the poorest and wealthiest members of society and leaving the country unprepared to deal with a widely predicted virus pandemic. Large regional differences are also apparent with much wealth being concentrated in the south in the financial capital of London. The increasingly centralised, chaotic and secretive style of government with seemingly little consultation or coordination between Downing Street, local government and UK nations has not helped in this crisis, only seeding division. If central government is not willing to share power and responsibility with the other nations, regions and northern cities of the UK, division will grow.
Only through openness and inclusivity can we work together to overcome the new threat of the pandemic to our lives and way of life. If we can learn from our mistakes, it might be possible, going forward, to create a more open, fairer, greener society. We will need to do more than hope for change however, we will need to act – to speak up positively, ask questions of local and central government, take steps individually and within our communities to create change for the better. It will not be easy, there are powerful financial players around the world who benefit from the status quo.
We live on a beautiful planet, it is the only home we have, so we must work to protect it and ourselves – to prevent a recurrence of this pandemic and to avoid future viral spreads. This can be achieved by creating healthier ways of living which respect the other living creatures on the planet – by preventing deforestation, by employing green energy technology and by developing alternative nutritions to feed populations. New economic ideas need to be trialled – a universal basic income which provides every citizen with the means to meet their basic needs, fairer taxation, better housing for all, are just a few of the problems we need to solve. Perhaps, this spring could be a time of renewal of nature and of society, in spite of the devastating pandemic.
Retromode 