Life changed forever

Apr 14, 2020 Editorial

At the potentially worst time in Guyanese life, this nation is ill-prepared mentally to do everything at its disposal to minimize the spread of COVID-19. The nation is distracted and divided, which increases its exposures. Though known, it is received and swiftly dismissed at many levels. We have bigger battles to fight, is the thinking of numerous here.
In Europe during the time of the cataclysmic Black Death, there was a brief cessation of the Continental wars that had plagued. Our political wars continue uninterrupted and unabated. If this is not the height of folly, then we don’t know what is. When national wisdom and leadership responsibility are in the highest demand, the best that could be summoned is the paramountcy of victory at the polls. In the face of an existential crisis, such leadership responses-both coalition and opposition-speak poorly, re prowess and fitness to pilot this society to any place, other than to those additional calamities, so characteristic of our history.
As an indication of Guyanese thoughtlessness, there are some strong beliefs that the virus does not impact a certain sizable segment of the local population. We recommend familiarity with any American newspaper, where the reports are of minorities and poorer communities experiencing more instances and more fatalities from this dreadful viral presence. We suggest some wise rethinking and immediate revising of any such misunderstandings and misplaced confidences.
We have a life-changing menace in this possible terminus of a virus, and what all too many remain primarily focused on is our politics. There is no way, even in the best-case scenarios, that our governance visions and models will not come under the severest of unbearable stresses in the months to come. Realistically, this virus has not really taken hold here, and this is despite the slowly rising number of confirmed cases, the small number of deaths. We hope that it will never gain any degree of feared footing here, that we will be spared by merciful providence.
That said, there is no way that our commercial activities and our economy will emerge unscathed from the still unknown, unfinished, unassessed impacts of the scourge. Though the local blue chips that publicly report billion-dollar profits have the greater chance of coming out ahead, but with lessened profits, that means less taxes paid, and likely lower employment requirements. On the other hand, the many small businesses and independent contractors, who are forced to close cannot work from home (some of them) but the rent and utilities still have to be paid.
The payment clock may be kindly delayed or extended, but it is not erased. And because customers would be less spending money, even for necessities, the specter of sharply compressed demand looms troublingly. In the United States, some economists and deep thinkers are weighing different outcomes, from different lengths of lockdowns and slowdowns, and the word used go beyond a great recession. There are fears and talk about a depression, one comparable to the great one of 1929 and the long dismal years of the aftermath.
In the religious sphere, our houses of worship are closed when needed the most. Live streaming and other constructive protective steps have been implemented by religious leaders and afford some level of spiritual solace during this hour when fellowship and communion with above are limited to homes. Though, many may be impatiently chafing at the restraints, this marooning from congregating, may push for early reopening, that could be off the table for a longer than shorter period. Dr. Anthony Fauci, a veteran epidemiologist and ranking member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, has warned that the virus could be “seasonal”. At present, the most optimistic projection of a vaccine is the eternity of almost a year away. Lots more damage to life and prospects are to be expected.
At individual and familial levels, money being short, bills unpaid, plus shortages and a lack of access all add to existing, extended pain, with little light in sight. In so many ways life, as we know it, is now forever changed, and not for the better. We hope that these reality checks will help us to reprioritize and recalibrate our outlooks on what matters in this life.

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