Covid-19 : Philosophical questions about life and death.

Submitted by BackcountryBob on Thu, 02/04/2020 - 8:08am
Hello Rossland

This pandemic has suddenly given a lot of people time to sit at home and write some of their thoughts on the virus.

One of these themes has been that we shouldn't let the economy fail in exchange for saving a few lives.

That's pretty much the gist of some of these arguments. Some of them are written quite eloquently and in a reasonable tone. However the message is clear; jobs and money are more important than lives. They bemoan the fact that governments and authority have decided what is best for them. It's possibly all part of some bigger nefarious global plan.

The reason we have local, provincial and federal government is precisely for this. We devolve our decision making to a few people and say 'we trust you to do the right thing'. They've sat down, listened to the experts in the field and decided a course of action.

You can sit in your basement and postulate about the 'trolley problem' or any other myriad of interesting philosophical questions about life and death.
 
Here's what I know from bitter, hard personal experience. If you've ever watched your friend bleed out and die right in front of you in the dirt, in some foreign country in a war that you don't even believe in. Or have to make the decision to kill one person for the 'greater good' of others. Once you've done that and had to live with that every day of your life. You won't be so blasé about balancing human life against the dollar.

You're asking people to potentially die for the economy. Well screw you. Living in a country with clean running water, the minimum wage, vaccinations, education, freedom of speech and a thousand other things you regard as normal that millions of people will never have. How dare you say we should let people die for the sake of the economy.
 

Be good to each other.

Town: Rossland, BC
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Submitted by Christy on Thu, 02/04/2020 - 8:52am.

https://stormhaven.blog/
Sounds like you have endured some nasty shit. Perhaps you may be interested in this blog by William Ray, who was with the Canadian armed forces involved in stopping the ethnic cleansing in Croatia.

Submitted by Mike and Ellen on Thu, 02/04/2020 - 9:24am.

Thank you for taking on such a heavy burden to protect humanity.  I for one am truly grateful for your sacrifices. It is amazing that so many think it is ok to put our sick and vulnerable on a hit list for the economy.....yes we are all rattling around in our heads , but we will get through this , we will overcome and besides that the sun still rises every day ! Go sit in a sunbeam in your yard and soak it up ! Cheers to all ! 

Submitted by staylor on Thu, 02/04/2020 - 12:02pm.

Backyard Bob (do I know you?), I agree with the main thrust of your post. I've stood on various patches of dirt on behalf of our country, gaining bitter/hard personal experience. 

Fear and self-interest shouldn't define this moment in time. Selflessness should be the most often used word this year. Selflessness, the actions of a single person accepting great personal discomfort and sacrifice, in order to protect and serve a larger group of people/their country. 

Anyone who has ever served their country in any fashion (the military immediately comes to mind) will clearly understand selflessness.

Unfortunately, a large portion of the Canadian population doesn't remember selflessness on a national scale, as it hasn't existed at this scale since WW II. But at this very moment, our country is asking everyone to make sacrifices, as if we are facing a national/global war.

I'm thankful that most Canadians have been insulated from the blood spilled while serving Canadian interests overseas during the last few decades. I'm extremely thankful that our country exists with a predominantly peacetime mentality. But right now we have an invisible enemy at our doorstep, right now is the time to recognize that WE ALL CAN DO OUR PART, right now we can all serve our country.

We are soooooo lucky to live in such a great nation, respect that it has a cost, do your part. Follow the directions of our Regional/Provincial/National governing bodies, who are applying the recommendations of Canada's best scientists, health professionals, crisis planners, and other SME's. Yeah, all of this sucks, but it's not about you... it's about the lives of our fellow citizens. It's about selflessness, not selfishness.