Time to move on

Much to the regret of the UK government (sic) it, along with others is inexorably heading towards another ‘lockdown.’ When it happens here, there’ll be an uprising of neo-libertarian disgust in Johnson’s backbench ranks and a glow of prescient self-satisfaction behind Kier Starmer, who called for a ‘circuit breaker’ a while back. The trouble with circuit breakers of course is that they don’t tell you exactly what the cause of the failure was in the first place. That requires a forensic investigation. But, listening to the news on the wireless, and reading the newspaper, I am coming to the conclusion, impossible as this may seem, that the political establishment has ‘lost it.’ This leaves us individuals, us mere specks in the cosmos facing existential choices. Clearly some people have already made their mind up and have no intention of following what many—quite rightly—consider to be idiotic, ill-thought rules. Here are the choices: a) follow government guidance and be as clueless as them—remember both Johnson and Trump (allegedly) contracted Covid 19; b) ignore the guidance and carry on as normal, in which case you stand a better chance of catching the wretched thing and eventually saving yourself if you’re under 65; c) become an alcoholic and control the way you choose to die. It has to be said that only the last option can be considered safe in the wider, societal sense, since so far as I am aware alcoholism is not contagious. And you’ll pay more tax and keep ICU beds on the go. I think it’s time people started making existential choices, then we could move on.