The Covid-19 (CV) story moves daily, dominating the news and many people’s lives. Stepping back from it will be important, to get it and the behaviours it is requiring and generating into perspective, maintaining a balance. At the moment, unsurprisingly, there is a constant broadcasting, newspaper and social media barrage of updates, commentary and speculation about what the future may hold, plus a considerable dose of misinformation from those who clearly wish others harm. Almost every aspect of life in the Western world is being touched in some way; the great challenge will be to balance unpleasant realities with sustaining values and positive ideas and hopeful messages, predictions and opportunities which circumstances throw up.
RISK REALITY – and the Balancing Act of “Lives” and Future Well-being
The short and medium-term goal of UK Government (UKGOV) of protecting life, the vulnerable and the NHS is declared to be paramount. That has necessitated tougher measures of social distancing and unprecedented UKGOV subsidy for all social and commercial groups at a cost which for now is unquantifiable but will ultimately have to be borne. However, any massive destruction of the economy which lasts long into the future will itself bring potentially greater dangers to life and the social fabric and future prospects for the young, families and society generally. Therefore, the achievement of the goal cannot be at any cost, cannot mean economic Armageddon (a phrase used in the news this week), and the measures to achieve the goal must be weighed in that light. UKGOV has to take risks , especially as so little is known about the behaviour and future virulence of and the possibility of killing this virus, and their courage in taking big steps is to be recognised, and perhaps applauded (though it must be sadly noted that many a commentator finds it difficult to accept these big steps positively). There appears to be much common ground that UKGOV has acted decisively with the Treasury wallet, including a unity of Trade Unions and business groups about the strength of its actions.
UKGOV is seen as the insurer of last resort who must bail out individuals and businesses who are virus victims, directly or indirectly. It is to be remembered though that UKGOV, financially, means all citizens and especially taxpayers in the long run. So, UKGOV cannot be expected to put all people in the position they would have been had the epidemic not occurred, and in trying to address all groups as a whole, there will be perceived inconsistencies and unfairness for some individual circumstances. If though the measures which some media pundits, pressure groups, economists and influencers are demanding could well bankrupt the nation for a long period, causing a prolonged recession and depression, they will be measures too far. UKGOV may need to put a cap on it.
Like it or not, it is necessary to weigh the degree of loss of life and suffering against the disruption (in wealth, health, mental and physical, and social cost) of emergency measures. This balancing act occurs all the time in our normal lives- for example the UK tolerates some 2000 deaths and 160,000 injuries a year on the roads because it thinks the benefits of vehicle travel outweigh such disadvantages. So, the measures to protect life must be balanced against other things – an invidious task for UKGOV and its leaders and they should be thanked for shouldering this burden on behalf of all citizens.
MEDIA COVERAGE
This epidemic is a great opportunity for our media to show balance, depoliticised; to unite the nation against a common threat, putting aside prejudices and focussing on the important things that need to be done; particularly as social distancing lasts longer and longer, bolstering morale and the hopefulness of emergence out of the current circumstances. The media’s natural tendency is to be downbeat, find fault, speculate as to the worst cases that “could” or “might” occur; phrases like “too little too late” trip off the tongue, and are simply unhelpful and damaging. However, the opinion piece by Camilla Cavendish in the Financial Times of 21 March gives due weight to the economic measures being adopted, is balanced and sets the scene fairly, closing with “Today, the fight is on. And, as Mr Sunak said, “it’s on all of us””. There is less balance elsewhere in some other media.
The Daily Mirror, politically, sought to find fault with measures – saying for example there is a lot of confusion in UKGOV messaging. In the Times of 19 March Simon Nixon in the Business pages, still smarting over Brexit, and always anti Boris Johnson, recites the UK’s inbuilt economic weaknesses and is sadly so wretchedly negative in an effort to lay at the door of Boris Johnson Britain’s (declining, in his view) global standing – all too bilious nonsense, where any truth is lost in the desire to find fault.
Broadcasters too struggle to get the balance right: perhaps this happens because so many seek to create drama out of news, particularly when citing extreme predictions of what could occur, but probably will not. Rather, they could help to generate calm and hope instead of anxiety: however, the voices of many of their reporters such as the BBC health correspondent seem only able to discuss the virus excitedly, shrill and creating dramatic effect. So too the BBC Breakfast team: they can be nice and warm on cuddly topics which is fine. But when interviewing ministers, they still, as Louise Minchin this week with Grant Shapps, treat them like schoolchildren, in a patronising tone asking questions like “and what are you going to do about…”. One member of that team has asked twice in desperate tones how it is possible to manage Mother’s Day with social distancing, as did a journalist ask the Prime Minister at the press briefing on 20th March. Big picture? More coverage with a positive and hopeful tone would be welcome. It is a mistake to take to task and over examine Boris Johnson’s hopeful “we can turn the tide in 12 weeks, if everybody does what they should”: that is a timespan most people can live with and he may be right, and he may be wrong. It is a mistake to play the tune that “social distancing” and “self-isolation” could last a year (it could last any period, nobody knows).
Then influencers. For example, Justin Welby, head of the Church of England, pronounced some good measures such as suspending Religious Services. But he could not resist the temptation to advise UKGOV on what to do for small businesses – surely he should stick to spiritual and behavioural well-being; and the fact he held a job in the City in some finance role years ago cannot entitle or qualify him to use his position of influence to dispense amateurish financial advice in 2020. In the same vein, it is interesting to hear broadcast the views of various doctors and other specialists, different ones each day, with their various theories and ideas of how things should be handled and what people should do and what might happen. But, since nobody really knows, the risk is to sow confusion among the public and undermine the official messaging, and so weaken the public response of cooperation in adopting the needed disciplines. Generally, should not guidance refer back normally to the NHS and other UKGOV guidance to ensure consistency, just as SKY TV’s regular headline advice does in a simple and clear way.
LOOKING FORWARD
In the world of corruption of true news and media manipulation, wariness of non-authoritative messaging is essential. The EU has (through the European External Action Services) accused Kremlin friendly media of spreading Coronavirus misinformation, always generating confusion.
But there could be good news. In the UK and U.S. and around the world, scientists are engaged vigorously in the search for drugs to fight CV. Certain existing drugs are being tested for their impact on CV. While there is prudent caution as to speed of discovery and roll out of a vaccine, science may soon come to the rescue to mitigate effects of CV.
It is clear that UKGOV will commit the necessary resources to support individuals and jobs and businesses, and to provide at least a minimum safety net. Key people will be keeping services and supplies going. Those in charge of educating the UK’s children are stepping up to the plate in a new schematic for education. Eton College is making available to all school pupils its online self-study programme. In response to UKGOV’s call, the UK manufacturing industry is turning brains, hands and machines to making 30,000 more ventilators – this is happening: GTECH , normally a manufacturer of lawn mowers and the like, believes it can make up to a thousand ventilators a day; a consortium including McLaren Formula 1 is on a similar road, as are others. Across disciplines people are stepping up.
At the local level, so many individuals will be assisting neighbours in need. It is positive that broadcasters are reporting many supportive acts of selflessness and volunteering at the community level.
Everyone is having to do something differently. Undoubtedly the more support each person gives others, the more tolerable and even enriching this strange period of social distancing will be. All of us are bound to learn a lot.
See Sherbhert https://sherbhert.com/the-coronavirus-war-the-behaviour-and-resilence-of-citizens-will-win-it/
