GuelphToday received the following letter to the editor from reader Sandy Issacs, who shares her feelings about the pandemic:
In a conversation I participated in a few months ago, those still hopeful saw the pandemic as a possible opportunity to rally together and appreciate the interdependence of all of us. Perhaps even, to make those huge steps we’ve been so reluctant to take to make right what’s been become so obvious to most of us.
Our comfort has been challenged by something foreseen but ignored so that we could continue with this social masquerade. I write this knowing many may see this as a call toward angered rebellion targeting those in power who could have done something.
Really? I still ask who are 'those people'?
In Canada, as a democracy we have the right to vote. Further, we can make choices of how we participate and influence those immediately around us. But, we have likely also been overwhelmed at times by real challenges in our lives. Many of us have suffered; many of us have, in those moments, felt hopeless, out of control. Many just don’t vote.
The rebellious tones happening around us feel like a reckoning for the sufferings many have felt in a society that has not been fair. The anxieties of a pandemic have helped to leverage those feelings.
I cannot atone for this.
I do recognize my own complacency. Recently I let go of home ownership to become a tenant, removing the responsibility that comes with owning a house. I think I’ve made the right decision by taking a bit more control over my own situation, though there is an element of insecurity that comes with this decision.
But then, I’m realizing feelings of security are highly individual. I’m warm, I have a safe and affordable space, I have friends and family near by. It’s a starting point for me to then move out and begin exploring what is really happening around me. And I see this - those without these immediate shelters – real or experienced – what I have and others may not - are more vulnerable than me to feeling abandoned and out of control.
Where I feel helpless is not being able to change these feelings. I can still sympathize, recognizing moments when I’ve also felt frightened, angry or lost.
Comparisons are not the answer but it’s all I have to offer right now, keeping hopeful that we can all find some form of solace during these times.
And yes, this is bigger than a pandemic; it’s our reaction to it combined with all the challenges that each has already experienced in life or that may still come up along the way.
Sitting back doesn’t help but throwing my hat into a ring of turmoil doesn’t help either.
I wish I could hug you, I wish I could be a friend.
Sandy Isaacs
Guelph, Ontario
