Right in the Centre – Less rules and less fear please
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- Published on Friday, April 29, 2022
By Ken Waddell
Neepawa Banner & Press
As winter loosens its grip on our surroundings and our lives, it's time to to have spring and summer. It's also time to think about fall and with this upcoming fall we will be having municipal and school board elections. As I have said many times, the most important level of government is local government.
Municipal government affects our every day lives more than any other. It's around this time of year that mayors, reeves and councillors start thinking about whether they will run again. It's a time when potential council members ponder if they should run. Four year terms are a serious commitment, one not to be taken lightly.
• Fear is an amazing force and no where is that more evident than in the handling of C-19, the Covid pandemic. The Bible clearly states that God doesn't give the spirit of fear but of love, power and a sound mind. Too bad we so often forget that. The handling of C-19 has been both heroic and foolish. For the most part, the heroism has been on the part of the health care workers and patients. They faced sickness and death up close and personal. When foolishness has prevailed, it has mostly come from politicians and bureaucrats with a big helping hand from media. To listen to the politicians, bureaucrats and many from the media, one would assume with absolute panic, "We are all going to die!" Well, it's true, we are all going to die. Someday! The vast majority of people didn't get C-19, most didn't get sick, becomes hospitalized or die. Most got vaccinated, some people three times and more. Vaccines seem to have brought about less severe symptoms among those who have contracted C-19. That said, there are many vaccinated people who have gotten or contracted C-19 and ironically, non-vaccinated people who haven't. I have it on good authority that one health system worker has said that to work in the system, you have to bathe in fear every morning. The problem is that fear does not produce good results. Planning, common sense and controlling risk produce good results. Some would call this listening to God.
• Last week, I wrote about how far behind Manitoba Health is when it comes to actually promote treatments for C-19. There are literally hundreds of sound studies about treatments available but either they are not being used in Manitoba or we are not being told about them. When you concentrate only on numbers of C-19 cases, hospitalizations, ICUs and deaths, you get a very distorted picture. Truth be known, we should be solution and treatment oriented and that has been lacking.
• I listened to an elderly doctor last weekend. He had some wise advice I think. He suggested if you a vulnerable person due to age or a pre-existing medical condition, you should use an N95 mask when you are in an indoor public setting, socially isolate if others aren't wearing a mask. He also suggested that you have a couple of test kits on hand and if a positive test or symptoms show up treat the symptoms. If your condition worsens he said, "Call 911". Seems like a lot better advice than constantly living in fear and going to ridiculous measures.
• If you talk to many people, if the media and government didn't tell us their was pandemic, they would hardly know there was a pandemic. Certainly, there have been some very sick people and some deaths but the stats, as we all now know, show that C-19 is largely a disease of the elderly with pre-existing conditions. I don't make light of that. I am 74 years old, overweight and have had allergy and breathing problems since I as a child. My problem is that the efforts of late, even in the care homes have been largely misplaced. If there are C-19 cases in a care home, visitation is largely restricted and residents are confined to their rooms. That's insane as staff come in and out all day long and so any pretence of isolation is just that, a pretence. Plus, the false isolation causes a lot of unnecessary work and even more fear.
• In response to this false isolation, we have had numerous reports of care home residents saying that, "If I have to live like this, I would rather die." Most older people don't fear death, they have it figured out. Back to what I said earlier, we are all going to die some day, it's just not likely going to be today.
• Statistics also show that vaccinating young children is not necessary but if parents want to it's Ok with me. There have been 36 deaths in Canada among people 19 and under. If you feel I am wrong, let me know.
• Many in the media have bought into the fear factor. It's a lazy way to get a story. It takes a lot less research than hunting down treatments or actually asking questions. Several columnists have applied double standards by preaching fear, excess caution and spouting government rules then travelling somewhere and rejoicing in how they didn't have to wear a mask.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this, or other editorial column within this paper are those of the writer's and should not necessarily be taken as the views of the Banner & Press.
