How We See Things

 

My brother Rod pointed out to me that over these past few weeks we’ve heard examples of two very different pandemic behaviours involving the loss of a significant amount of money. Vancouver-based Casino CEO Rod Baker had to resign from his $800,000 year job after he and his wife were seen to have violated emergency measures by posing as motel employees in order to get the COVID-19 vaccine from a mobile clinic which was administering doses to a small indigenous Yukon community. That’s a big salary to lose, but it seems Baker is due to receive about 28 million dollars worth of stock options on retirement, so he’ll certainly be OK financially for a while.

A very different story is that of Quebec-born Super Bowl award-winning linesman, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who had completed a medical degree from McGill University but not yet fulfilled his residency requirements. From his Super Bowl achievements, he’d received awards, fanfare, parades, and, of course, a multimillion-dollar salary. He was a hero, and so it must have been a hard choice for him to step back from his prestigious career, yet he chose instead to work at a long-term care facility in Quebec while taking online courses from Harvard University. He does plan to return to his football career, but not just yet. Aware of his exposure to the virus, he didn't want to put his teammates at risk. He also wanted to continue to work to care for those suffering from the disease.

https://globalnews.ca/news/7577730/coronavirus-laurent-duvernay-tardif-resume-football-chiefs/

https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/04/27/chiefs-ol-laurent-duvernay-tardif-medical-doctor-works-on-covid-19-front-lines

Duvernay-Tardif greatly admires the frontline workers, and says, “I feel my definition of a hero has changed this year.”

Many people these days have a hard time making distinctions about things, e.g. whether travel or work are essential or non-essential, but Duvernay-Tardif has a larger perspective on the crisis. He's deeply concerned about the rapid spread of the virus and says, “If we’re not playing in September, knowing all the implications of what sport means for a nation and the money behind this huge industry, there are going to be bigger issues than not playing football.”

In reflecting on these two accounts, I think we see extreme examples of heroic versus deplorable behaviours. Perhaps, as in reports we hear of wartime behaviour, the pandemic causes good people to be better and bad people to become worse. In the stories of the two World Wars, we learn about acts of astonishing bravery and self-sacrifice and also disgraceful behaviours of hoarding or indulging in black market activities. It seems similar to what we're seeing now.

The Manichean religion appears apt nowadays: the forces of light fighting against the forces of darkness. People I know who may be bending the rules insist that they are being very careful, very safe -- but then why are the numbers still rising? We are told not to intervene when we see people bending the rules, because it might increase the potential for violence. But what can we do?

Well, at the very least we can talk about what community means. We can emphasize the need for collective action. And, most of all, we can celebrate the many heroes amongst us -- and there are lots of them.  I think of George Eliot’s much quoted observation in Middlemarch proposing that “The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.” 

It is our own unseen heroes, doing the right thing, who are perhaps making the progress of the virus not so ill as it might have been. 

Let's acknowledge them, cheer them on, and follow their lead.

Beginnings and Bravery

 It’s been a long, hard winter of waiting. Waiting for the virus numbers to decrease. Waiting for a vaccine. Waiting for a time when we can visit our friends, for the world to re-open. Waiting for the news of the American election to finally be finalized. Waiting for the inauguration of the new US President to take place without violence.

It’s not over, but it does feel as if there’s a new beginning. We’ve had several brilliant sunny days. There was a bit of snow last night and there’s more winter yet to come, but the bulbs I planted in pots on my patio are lifting their heads and promising that spring and blossoms will soon arrive. We can see new beginnings in many places.

In his wonderful poem For A New Beginning, (ODonohue-ForaNewBeginning.pdf (sage-ing.org), John O’Donohue writes about a beginning quietly forming, about us waiting until we were “ready to emerge.” He writes about courage, and goes on to advise:

Awaken your spirit to adventure;

Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;

Soon you will home in a new rhythm,

For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

I thought of this poem while watching the American President’s inauguration which was an inspiring celebration of new beginnings, expressed most profoundly in the inaugural poem by Amanda Gorman who offers both hope and a challenge: 

 

When day comes we step out of the shade,

aflame and unafraid

The new dawn blooms as we free it

For there is always light,

if only we’re brave enough to see it

If only we’re brave enough to be it.

 

You can read the full text of Gorman’s inaugural poem here, and it’s well worth reading the poem and watching this performance more than once:

https://www.cnn.com/videos/style/2021/01/20/amanda-gorman-youth-poet-laureate-full-poem-biden-capitol-inauguration-vpx.cnn

It seems that beginnings are also always about bravery. Beginnings and bravery. We have been braving the coronavirus for some time. Now we'll have to begin to be brave enough to see what's possible and, as Gorman says, be brave enough to be it.

I think we can do it.

We must.

Bursting Bubbles

I’m going to burst your bubble, people used to threaten, when they were about to destroy one of my illusions or delusions. These days, it feels like a lot of my bubbles are being burst. Riots in the US and racism close to home are destroying my illusions about civil society, decency, truth, and so forth. And I am disillusioned about the use of the word “bubble” with reference to the pandemic.

“Stick to your bubble,” advise the health authorities. But the word “bubble” has taken on a questionable reputation. There are so many alternate bubbles. One hears references to “someone in one of my bubbles” or “a person who is sort of in my bubble”. One couple told me that they were visiting an acquaintance who “thinks of us as being in her bubble.” When I told my daughter this, she said, I like to think of Judi Dench and Maggie Smith and Emma Thompson as being in my bubble -- but they’re not!

Bubbles are being replicated, extended, elongated, expanded and twisted to accommodate immediate desires. They’re not working to limit contact. Let’s just burst them!

Right now, we’re supposed to remain in our households so let’s just use that word. Household. And if you stay in your household you can spend face-to-face time only with your spouse and family, housemate, or perhaps that one old person who lives alone and sees nobody but you. You can’t have others into your home. You can’t visit casual acquaintances. You can’t holiday in Mexico.

More bubbles, less troubles, said Sandro Bottega, excellent producer of exquisite grappas and a variety of fine prosecco wines (https://www.bottegaspa.com/en/the-collections/wines/prosecco-sparkling-wines) when we visited Distilleria Bottega in Conegliano many years ago. That’s still true about drinking sparkling wine, but not about your social contacts during a pandemic.

The virus numbers in Canada are increasing daily. When I first started checking the statistics on the Worldometer website https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/. Canada was 32^nd out of the 221 countries listed. Now we are 22^nd, and the numbers continue to be high.

Despite my bubble-bursting, I see positive signs, some things to make me hopeful. Because of tightened restrictions, the curve may be flattening in B.C. and in other parts of Canada. The vaccines are being distributed. The little bulbs are appearing. Spring is coming.

Recently, I read statistics that break down global demographics as if the world were a village of 100 people. Several such reports noted that 93 of the hundred in this global village would not reach the age of 65. The most recent report I could find indicated other ways in which I am clearly one of a very small number of very privileged villagers: https://usm.maine.edu/international/if-world-were-village-100-0 . I always knew I was fortunate, but these charts further convince me.

I have much for which to be thankful. And when I become depressed about the evildoings of humankind, I remember that my friend Rachel assures me that there are more good people in the world than bad ones. My Dad used to say that, too.

They’re probably right.

 

 

Epiphany, Part Two

In last week’s post, I wrote about the biblical story of Epiphany, about the wise men following their vision, seeing the light, and returning by another route, no longer on the path of position, privilege and power. This week, on January 6th, the actual day of Epiphany, we saw on the news not a vision of hope and salvation but one of hatred and violence. We witnessed an attack on the U.S. White House that Rolling Stone Magazine described as one of “white supremacy on parade:”  https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/trump-mob-capitol-attack-jamil-1110820/

If there is one positive thing that has emerged from this event it's that the existence of white privilege, white supremacy and institutional racism has been made so very visible. Having read about peaceful demonstrations in which black protesters were met with excessive use of police force, it’s shocking to see law enforcers in Washington having selfies taken with the white rioters storming the White House.  Surely, it will now be difficult for any politician to deny that systemic racism and white privilege exist. Let’s hope we are all becoming motivated to do something about it.

It's not just in the U.S. that far-right groups exist. A recent CBC documentary referred to alt-right rallies happening in Canada every week and noted that hate groups here have formed coalitions: https://www.cbc.ca/passionateeye/features/right-wing-extremist-groups-and-hate-crimes-are-growing-in-canada. The comments in response to this program included many disturbing remarks about “PC nonsense” and “the government using identity politics, social issues and covid to keep us at each others throats.” On the afternoon of the rioters storming the White House, a small group of Pro-Trump demonstrators gathered in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery. It was only a small group, but still disturbing, as are the frequent demonstrations by anti-maskers. Canada has a long way to go to overcome extremism and racism in our own country.

Over the past few years, many institutions have engaged in what they call “difficult conversations” about racism. It’s a start. The talk is good, and sometimes it feels satisfying, but the picture hasn’t really altered much. There’s a long way to go, and we need to change direction.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in a surprisingly emotional speech compares the January 6^th event in Washington to Kristallnacht in Germany in 1938: https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/arnold-schwarzenegger-says-trump-is-a-failed-leader-and-urges-unity-after-capitol-siege-1.5261029

He speaks, poignantly, about people he knew then who were not Nazis but “just went down the road, step-by-step,”

Let’s not do that. It’s time to stop, think, and choose another path.

Epiphany

 

Many years ago, my husband and I were in London, attending a service at St. Martin-in-the-Fields on New Year’s Day. The young priest who gave the sermon spoke of the evils of war and the abuse of power by political leaders around the world, in particular speaking about the American President at that time, George Bush, and the conflict with Iraq. She told the biblical story of Herod the King commanding three wise men to follow up on stories about the birth of a baby who was touted as the King of the Jews and to report back to him.

The three wise men, she said, were wealthy and influential. They had followed the star, travelling on a path of power, position and privilege. She emphasized this point before continuing to say that, having seen and worshipped the infant, the three men were warned by God in a dream that they should not return to Herod And so, according to the Bible, they departed into their own country another way.

They travelled on another path, said the priest, without the power, position and privilege upon which they had always relied.

That sermon struck me powerfully at the time. And now, I believe, the virus has shown that power, position and privilege will not get us through a pandemic.

Clearly, we need a new path. Systemic inequality, racial violence, social unrest, the climate crisis and the need for reconciliation with indigenous peoples demand new approaches. The pandemic has made this need much more urgent. Crucial.

If we and the planet are to survive, we must change. Secretary-General António Guterres has proposed a new social contract as a way forward:

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/a-new-social-contract-for-a-new-era/

This idea has also been suggested by various environmental, political, spiritual and financial leaders. If you enter “Social contract 2021” or “Social contract pandemic” in your search engine, you’ll find several hundreds of results. The details vary, but all of them propose a radical shift in how we deal with pervasive inequalities and the climate crisis. Various consultation processes, assemblies and tables are recommended. That’s all needed for meaningful social contracts, no doubt.

But perhaps it’s also necessary for each of us to examine our own new path and to choose a better way individually. A social contract needs to be supported from the ground up as well as with whatever may be developed and imposed from the top. What can an individual do to choose as a better way?

It’s the time of year when, traditionally, people make resolutions. I don’t do that any more because I never keep them. And I don’t set out intentions, because I know what the road to hell is paved with. Often, at the time of Epiphany, I’ve chosen an inspiring word like trust or hope or community as something to guide me in the coming year.

This year the word I’ve chosen is real. I’m tired of lies, fabrications, dishonesty, alternate facts, fake news, and inauthenticity of every sort. The self-deceptions that prevent us from pursuing transformative change.

I’m going to pay attention to what is real in the world around me. In the people, In the ideas, in the words, in the physical world, in the things.

And most of all, in myself.