Dear Friends,
I remember, many years ago, an English lesson during which we were introduced to Proverbs. One of which was, ‘You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink’. If ever there was a sentence that summed up our present predicament, then that is it. From today, in London, we are being placed under increased restrictions concerning where we can go and what we can do. For some this will cause real hardship. But there are still many places left open, (including places of worship), and there is still the opportunity to carry on life pretty much as it was. We have been told just how precarious the overall situation is. Pressure on the NHS is increasing, at just the worst time of the year. More and more of us are at increased risk. We know too that if we behave in a particular way that risk is minimised – ‘hands, face, space’ – and that the pressure on the Health Service is reduced accordingly. We have to decide for ourselves, we have to choose. And that choice will be all the harder to make over the Christmas period when for five days it will be as if the pressure is off, and we will be able to relax, finding ourselves tempted to ‘take time out’ from the otherwise disciplined regime we have imposed upon ourselves thus far. In the end, it will be our decision. No one can decide for us, no one can make us do what we choose not to do. I just hope and pray that we all choose ‘wisely’…
…And then there is another choice we will all have to make. We have all marvelled at the way scientists have applied themselves during this last year in search of a vaccine to combat Covid-19. Now we have it, and already it is being administered to those whose need is most immediate. But when the time comes, what will we decide to do? Are we prepared to be vaccinated? I am old enough to remember being vaccinated against polio – via a sugar lump as I recall – and also standing in line to be immunised against Small Pox. I remember too taking our children for their MMR vaccinations in spite of the small but highly vocal campaign against their being given. More poignantly, I remember the appalling consequences suffered by so many following the use of Thalidomide. Which, even though not a vaccine, was a drug that turned out to have not been properly tested before use…
…Once again, ‘anti-vaxxers’ as they are known are making themselves heard. But what intrigues me is that ‘anti-vaxxers’ appear to be the same people who are ‘anti-mask wearing’, ‘anti’ anything that denies them the absolute freedom to decide for themselves what they will and will not do. And that would be ok but for the fact that they do not live in isolation, and as such are abusing their personal freedom by compromising the prospects of others…Again, please choose wisely.
…I can’t tell you what to do, but remember, ‘You can lead a horse to water…’