A Thankful Note – this is a note of thanks to you and is more than just footy.
How good is it to have the footy back and hear the roar of the crowd – (even if it is just a soundtrack for now). AND, it doesn’t matter if you’re not a sports fan – it’s more symbolic, from a broader society perspective a very public and clear demonstration that life (as we used to know it) is slowly returning back to a level of “normal” (whatever that really means anyway?).
AND even better a weekend if your team won….hmmm no comment.
BUT, as I said, this is a thank you note, not a review of my footy team’s very ordinary second half on Saturday night.
Now, where was I?….Oh yeah
We (as a country – Australia) have successfully “flattened the COVID-19 curve” and avoided ((I greatly hope)) the potential of tens/ hundreds of thousands of deaths.
Much of the credit must go to our health and emergency workers but also to our government leaders who have managed to put aside petty politics to collaboratively focus on our needs and solutions.
BUT the person to thank most is YOU – without you (and I) accepting these conditions as a collective society it all fails – the weakest link scenario and the outcome – people – our friends and family die!
From a personal perspective – I like to think our sense of community and mateship not just self-interest survival has been a key to our embracing these social changes and success.
So THANK YOU.
That’s not to say we are completely out of danger, until there is a vaccine there is still the real risk of outbreaks but with our international borders still closed, our acceptance and continued adherence of socially distancing and contact tracking in place, we are in an enviable global position.
Yes, our elected managers at the beginning took a while to develop clear strategies, policies, procedures and communications, the Ruby Princess debacle as a clear example but the benefits of our geographical isolation, small comparative population and comparatively fewer visitors gave us a wider earlier window to respond and reduced our comparative risk profile.
To fully appreciate the difference we only have to look at the United States which is a complete clusterfuck of poor divisive leadership (what a douchebag), policy, blame games and anti-authority (how a deplorable event ignites a tinderbox). So deeply saddening.
On a different note, from a digital media perspective the latest Trumpy v Twitter #fakenews is just wonderfully bizarre.
Revolutions ahhh that’s a different thread for later,
“The end may justify the means as long as there is something that justifies the end.”
― Leon Trotsky, Their Morals and Ours: The Class Foundations of Moral Pctice
There’s no question things have changed – the economics, the nature of work, relationships, priorities, basic hygiene and video conferencing.
Now the threat of the COVID-19 wildfire appears under control and we enter into the next phase. What’s next? How will our behaviours change and what are the programs in place to position us for this new market environment?
Here in Sydney Pubs and Clubs reopen today and I’ll be heading down this afternoon to show my support for the local economy with a few frothies to talk about footy (and not just the Sharks), politics and other banter.
Have a great week, take care and once again, thank you.
