POLITICAL FAILURES DURING COVID LESS DISASTEROUS THAN SUGGESTED?

Today's Waterloo Region Record carries an opinion piece by Dr. Jillian Horton of Winnipeg titled "The moral authority of our institutions is broken". The sub-title is "I thought our leaders would protect us from COVID: I was wrong". While Dr. Horton certainly has some legitimate evidence and facts to back her position I would suggest that she is looking at the glass half empty while I'm taking the position that the glass is half full. I know: me complimenting either Canadian or other politicians; that is bizarre. Well here it is. .................................................................................................................................. First of all no matter how well I might think some politicians have done regarding vaccinating Canadians and giving appropriate advice and direction; nothing can obliterate decades if not centuries of bad governance right here in Canada from municipal to provincial and federal politics. Whether we are talking residential school programs, environmental disasters (Walkerton, Elmira, Cambridge, Grassy Narrows), failures in worker health and safety (mining, rubber industries in Kitchener, G.E in Peterborough) or a hundred other gross failures, yes I would agree that the moral authority of our institutions is broken and has been for a very long time. I would also suggest that Dr. Horton's metaphor of a broken drink machine is really very good. ................................................................................................. The question for me is where are our governments when an issue is either of world wide significance or close to it. What comes to mind at the moment is Covid-19, the Second World War and Climate Change. Obviously there were failures after the First World War that resulted in a yet a second one. Hence governments, politicians and human beings in general aren't very bright. Climate Change is an entirely manmade catastrophe and as long as the end is even a decade or so down the road procrastination will continue. Covid on the other hand has mobilized governments and politicians at all levels. Yes there are American political idiots in power in various states just as we in Canada have Jason Kenny (Alberta) and others. But overall vaccines were developed rapidly and have so far in the developed countries been distributed widely. Yes Dr. Horton is correct in that citizens have generally followed the directions given and despite that are still threatened by Covid. That said please look at the statistics. Right now Covid is a disease of the unvaccinated; in other words of those who have not followed pretty clear directions. Yes the variants could catch up to even the vaccinated eventually if precautions are not still taken. ............................................................................................................................... Our institutions have a lot to answer for yes but the individuals in them are not all dumb. The smarter ones know that at crunch time those institutions had better step up because governments can hide a lot of sins happening to the few but not so much when it is world wide problems.