The time has come the walrus said
To talk of many things
Of shoes and ships and sealing wax
Of cabbages and kings
And why the sea is boiling hot
And whether pigs have wings
That is one verse of a rather famous poem by Lewis Carroll in his classic book Alice in Wonderland. Today they would be probably be talking of Covid-19 and correct physical distancing and the curse of isolation, of pandemics and flattening curves.
We certainly seem to have gotten ourselves into another fine mess, but now the initial phase of panic buying, and knee jerk government reactions is hopefully over, it is probably time to have a little sober second thought. And no, I don’t mean the Senate should get involved.
What I would suggest is that the government, businesses and individuals set up a system where they can exchange ideas and modify the rules and decrees, so that things work better. Many businesses are already doing this with protective shields for employees and curb side pick ups. Also, a whole lot of people and businesses are trying to help where they can.
Unfortunately, in an attempt to get people to comply with the rules, some jurisdictions are going a little overboard. Here is an example. A photographer in PEI was taking those people in isolation photos and hers were “from the porch.” The family would gather on the porch and from the curb she would take a photograph of them. One person complained about this and the government ordered her to stop. That’s nutso.
I know it’s a pandemic but what she was doing was fine and sensible. Someone complaining about it is nutso. People are going a little nutso and in some cases the government and its employees are also going a little nutso by overreacting to things.
People want to go outside for a walk. Not only is that normal but the exercise and fresh air healthy for them, mentally and physically. Rather then close a park completely, why not set it up so that people book an hour walk at the park. You let people in five minutes apart and they have a walking trail that takes an hour or so to walk the loop. Since they are all going in the same direction, they will have lots of social distancing. Yellowknife could even set up something like that for the indoor walking track.
The GNWT has closed down the territorial parks, at the moment, but come summer, people are going to want to get out of town for awhile. Again, that is not only normal, but it is physically and mentally healthy for them. So, with a little thought and planning, I think the government should be able to figure out how to let people do this.
Otherwise the government is going to drive people nutso and we don’t want that. So, I think they should set up an ANTI NUTSO DEPARTMENT. Part of their job would be to figure out ways people can maintain distancing but still do business and recreate. There should a prize for anyone who comes up with a games people can play outside, that are fun and still follow the distancing rules. Maybe something involving lacrosse sticks and a sanitized ball. How Canadian would that be! You could even have teams. Which ever, team can make the most passes in a given amount of time wins the coveted covo cup.
We may be in a pandemic, but that is no excuse to drive people nutso. Let’s remember the walrus and the carpenter. We should consider their point of view as well, even though they might have been a little nutso to begin with.