Another tough year ahead?

Courtesy of the City of Quesnel:

Over the holidays, I watched a funny video about how bad 2020 was and how happy people are to say good riddance to it. Unfortunately, I fear 2021 may be another tough and challenging year.

While it’s good news that vaccines are being approved and distributed, the new strain of COVID-19 is worrisome and most nations are starting the year with more stringent lockdowns that are likely to be kept in place for most of this winter.

We’re definitely not out of the woods yet, and “normal” life is clearly not on the near horizon.

In times like these, the best thing we can all do for ourselves and for others is to roll with it: do our best to act in accordance with the guidelines and health orders we’ve been asked to adhere to and make the best of a bad situation. Wishing the COVID-19 restrictions were “just over” is not a good mental health strategy, adapting to them and finding ways to still have fun and stay connected with friends and family is.

And, asserting our “right” to disregard the public health orders and flaunting our “freedoms” by not wearing masks or not taking basic precautions to help stop the spread of the virus is just plain ignorant (as in “lacking knowledge or awareness”). Society only works when we all voluntarily constrain our freedoms for the greater good and when those who choose not to face consequences.

This is the fundamental principle of a civil society: laws and regulations are democratically imposed that constrain personal freedoms in order to create a safe, secure, and predictable way of life for all members of the society, especially the more vulnerable. The minority who cannot abide by society’s rules face prosecution and punishment.

This is the fundamental principle underlying the protection of private property, protection of persons, rules of the road, health and safety procedures in both our community and our workplaces, and even the basic organizational rules that regulate our workplaces and our recreational activities. None of us have unfettered “freedom” in any civil society; all of us have an obligation to understand and abide by the rules established in the society we live in. Today, that means paying attention to and abiding by the rules established to get us through this pandemic with the least amount of negative health impacts and tragedies as possible.

The unfortunate irony is that those who choose to flaunt the rules in the name of personal freedom are the reason the rules end up getting stricter and will likely have to be imposed longer.

So far, residents of Quesnel have shown great community and public spirit by adhering to the rules established both by public health and by individual businesses. We’ve seen little resistance and our front-line service workers have been, on the main, gracious and tactful in how they’ve handled those people. So, a big thank you to all!!

We’re fortunate to live in a community that enables us to easily get outdoors; one that provides lots of opportunities to shop locally and support local businesses; and one that has good internet access, enabling us to stay connected to our loved ones during this time of restricted travel.

As we start 2021, it’s my sincere hope that Quesnel residents will continue to show the fortitude and resilience they’ve shown for the past number of years. Let’s continue to support each other to get through this tough time together.

Bob Simpson is the Mayor of Quesnel, BC.  He can be reached via email here