A tale of two communities

THE EDITOR: The tale of TT today is sadly a tale of two communities. One community moves heaven and earth to provide healthcare, vaccines and every other requirement for a constantly changing pandemic. The other demands vaccines, then refuses vaccines; demands all sectors be reopened, then criticises the open economy for creating spread.

Our first community again, takes the trouble to disseminate information in many forms. Press conferences, advertisements, social media and word of mouth. They beg and implore, answer questions and try to cover every base from a scientific perspective. The other community gets to stand by and cry, "They lie. They lie. They lie." They themselves also disseminate information which they have been careful to collect from that “bastion of truth,” the internet.

Our first community, on the one hand, believes that they have a right to remain alive and that others also are entitled to that very same right. They vaccinate, wear masks and obey all the public health guidelines rigorously. The other community also believes they have rights. The right to mix and mingle with everybody and to go everywhere. They want to know what's our problem with them working or playing among us in places that are more vulnerable to spread. What, too, is the problem with families getting together, talking, laughing and eating in one another's faces, and partying hearty?

In one community the country has bent over backwards to ensure that throughout the pandemic there have been no shortages of any item in the open marketplace; the conventional healthcare system by and large continues to function; practically all government employees have remained employed; and grants, hampers and other social support have been provided to those in need.

The other community, meanwhile, unendingly harps on what a great, big failed state this country is. Why couldn't we be more like some of our wonderfully astute Caribbean neighbours, except, of course, when they find themselves in the clutches of the IMF. Or like the mighty US, except when floods and storms ravage their electricity grids, knocking them out for weeks at a time.

JOANNE K JOSEPH

San Fernando