I agree that no one really knows what's going on.
And in a sense, I'm ok with that. Provided that's what they tell us. After all, they're only human.
Personally, I am thoroughly fed up with politicians forever speaking with authority when they're flying by the seat of their pants. It's ok not to know the full story. It's OK not to know exactly what to do, but don't try pulling the wool over my eyes by telling me you know exactly what's what when you clearly don't.
I'm far more trusting of a politician who can admit when they are simply doing the best they can, instead of try to BS me.
Even more so when they actually admit they did something wrong: I have waaaay more faith in someone who knows when they screwed up as it means they realise they can learn from mistakes.
And please don't try to treat me like a child by not giving me the whole picture: if they tell me what they know about the situation, I can evaluate their decisions based on that.
No compulsory masks here beyond hospitals. Hand cleaner at the entrance of most stores.
One good thing is I think the world has become more aware of personal hygiene: more washed hands, fewer careless sneezes = fewer cases of the common cold.
I'm in NZ and life is very much back to normal, barely see any masks but still plenty of signs and sanitiser around. The mood is generally optimistic, people are spending money and getting on with getting on.
Thing is we are closed to the world, the economic impact of having our largest industry - tourism - vanish due to the closed borders won't be felt for another couple of months. No doubt it will be very bleak when it does hit.
For more than 40 years I have never really trusted any politician regardless of what they stand for, decisions are always inherently compromised in government.
But, Jacinda Ardern has somehow managed to make most of the population feel that she really cares about our safety. The lockdown came in like a train and nobody really batted an eyelid, in the 2 days before Level 4 was implemented the whole nation went shopping for building and gardening supplies. I even saw a Nissan Leaf towing a trailer full of decking timber. Would love to know what it did for the battery range.
The communication in daily 1pm briefings became essential viewing, Aunt Cindy even answered public questions some evenings on Facebook while sat at home in her trackies covered in baby goo. I've never seen the like! My political cynicism has melted away.
Wage subsidies for non-essential workers were applied for on-line and in your bank account within 24 hours. It barely took 2 minutes to fill in the application. Unbelievable.
It would be a real surprise if she does not win the election in September, but regardless, whoever holds the reins has an unbelievably tough job ahead of them for the next year or two.
We ain't seen nothing yet.
Edited by harvey krumpet, 16 July 2020 - 11:00 pm.