Whatever your position it is difficult to argue that the main stream media has played a blinder throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. One particular aspect of that has been the failure to effectively frame the discourse.
Failure to frame the discourse has resulted a lack of critical thinking and associated insight. Let’s take the example of the relative perspectives of practising Doctors and Policy makers. Doctors are working to create the best outcome for the individual patient, within an undertaking to “do no harm”. Policy makers are looking for the best outcome for the population at large, possibly with factors such as “quality of life” factored in. I am not sure that I need to say that a Doctor who moves into policy making is conflicted or at least they should be!
Map that across to the political divide to ones position on the role of Government based on your political persuasion. Are Governments responsible for “looking after” the general population? Where is the line? The answer to this is the question predicts both where someone sits in terms of political tribe and position on Covid-19 response.
What happens when you prioritise the mass over the individual? Gone is the focus on the individual with their particularly nuances, even peculiarities. People on mass now become the source of the problem.
Look at MRNA vaccines, on aggregate some argue they are safe because they save more people than they harm (although we don’t have the data on that one). On aggregate that may be true but for healthy children who have minuscule risk of harm from CV-19, it patently is not. Vaccinating healthy children cannot be to the benefit of the individual child. So are we assuming children are putting adults at risk, and therefore it’s implied that we are putting children at risk to benefit the adult population. What sort of person is comfortable with that?
No, the government is not in the business of protecting the individual, that is why it’s important that people take responsibility for their own lives. Those who wish to limit people’s capacity to act autonomously, or would prefer that they are subservient to something of a “Nanny State” do not like or trust people – they are in truth selfish misanthropes, hiding in a virtuous cloak. I am minded of advice bestowed upon me by Mrs Hepworth my English Teacher, that is never to use the word “nice”. I have held true to that with the indulgence of using the word pejoratively. How can I put it – these are indeed “nice” people.