Part of the problem was some unexpected diversions, such as me having to help move a whole bunch of heavy objects for a day or two, but on the other hand part of the problem was some mental depression that overcame me pursuant to the COVID crisis: I was just flummoxed by how bad and pervasive the effects of the pandemic have been to many so many people in so many ways and so many places - e.g. the gross neglect of elderly seniors in long-term care facilities in Ontario and Quebec - and then realizing anew it's ALL in Bible prophecies! And numerous experts in Bible scriptures are seeing and saying the same things.
Today though I'm feeling some optimism that we will get through this in coming weeks though it's still obvious that sadly humanity will not learn the lessons it needs to learn if it hopes to avoid the mass collapse of human societies.
I was encouraged, yesterday, to see Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as co-host of a United Nations conference on COVID mention all this is "an opportunity to adjust" various things, which I found amusing because in recent days and especially this morning I had been drafting passages (in long-hand) for the new issue of The Twigg Report in which I hope to argue convincingly that far beyond "adjustments" we as BCers, Canadians and world citizens need to make big and brave changes to a growing list of challenges facing our societies - challenges that faced us before COVID, such as homelessness, drug addictions and street crimes - and which probably will still face us even more so long after COVID-19 is gone.
I have developed a preliminary list of such reforms, such as a new type of incarceration for miscreants and new types of job creation plus increased emphasis on maintaining social order, and B.C. re-launching its own parallel currency (i.e. not supplanting the Canadian dollar or other currencies), and I look forward to publishing them in coming days but meanwhile I'm amused and encouraged to see that quite a few other people have similar mindsets now.
A prime example of that was seen in a recent Victoria Times-Colonist Ask Ellie advice column, in which she advised a woman whose sexual affair with a married father had been interrupted by his being quarantined by COVID. After nine paragraphs of remonstrations against such affairs, Ellie concluded with this gem:
"COVID-19 has given you an opportunity to do better with your life than wait around for another family's husband and father."
Indeed.
In fact, we do have opportunities now to make changes bigger than Trudeau's "adjustments" but when we look and see what the governments are doing, we see mostly same-old same-old even here in progressive and affluent British Columbia.
In Europe I've heard reports that COVID has been helping inspire the Protestant and Catholic churches to hold services together, which may be encouraging, but on the other hand the divisions in the European Union are still tense as the United Kingdom prepares for "Brexit" and now the news is that Germany is rebuilding its military forces, especially its navy, which does not bode well for world peace. (Germany likely is the King of the North in Bible prophecy.)
Likewise, we can't take any heart from the recent increase in bullying by the Peoples Republic of China, especially against Hong Kong but also now against Canada in the Huawei and Meng Wanzhou case.
The PRC has been stepping up its actions against religions in general and Christianity in particular, which also is a step towards Bible prophecy coming true because it cites the "Kings of the East" becoming a terrible military power marching through Asia and heading towards Jerusalem and the war of Armageddon. (Daniel 11, Matthew 24, Revelation 16 to 20)
I have long believed that the Jews in "Israel" will feel threatened by Iran and China and so will invite the German-dominated European Roman Catholics to send forces to help defend The Holy Land and "then shall the end come" as it says in Matthew 24:14 in a passage in which Jesus says His "gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness . . . " which could not feasibly happen until modern times of social media - NOW!!
So here we are in the years (to borrow a line from a Neil Young song) wherein "the world faces a fork in the road" (to borrow a headline from the Craig Kielburger column in the Vancouver Sun on Tuesday). [Kielburger is co-founder of the hugely-successful WE Movement and a perhaps somewhat naive progressive.]
"COVID-19 can spur a new era of solidarity, but we need that co-operative mindset to extend beyond the global crisis," he wrote, which I agree with and note has been the case in B.C.'s politics of late too, apart from some feuding inside the B.C. Green Party that saw leader Andrew Weaver step down (due to family issues) and then leave the party altogether (apparently due to caucus issues) to sit as an Independent when the B.C. Legislature resumes on June 22.
So lots of people and players in the B.C. and Canadian political systems are hoping to go in some new and better directions once the COVID-19 crisis is over but when I see Parliament and the B.C. Legislature trying to operate "virtually" - i.e. not everyone in attendance in person but only via a computer connection - I worry that this will be another step backwards for our democracy. As if the danger of a flu bug outweighs the essential needs of our political and government systems.
And speaking of essential services, why isn't recycling included? I know I'm not alone in having accumulated a very large collection of used beverage containers. If the B.C. Liquor stores and other vendors (e.g. grocery stores selling soft drinks) are still charging bottle deposits, why can't they accept returns too?
This is only one of many examples in which our responses to COVID-19 have erred on the side of too much caution and it's time now to ease up.
Anyway, it looks like I will be here and writing about it as it all evolves.
PARTING THOUGHT:
The integrity of future elections in this age cyberspace is an issue needing close attention in times ahead to ensure some opportunists don't try to use COVID as an excuse to pervert our political systems to their own advantage.
That's more or less the message of a new report from B.C. Chief Electoral Officer Anton Boegman warning that cyber risks to voting that have been seen around the world represent a real risk to B.C.'s next election too, which is scheduled for October 2021 but could happen sooner because the NDP government of Premier John Horgan has a somewhat shaky minority dependent on votes from the now-fractured Green Party, now down to two members after Weaver's departure (not to mention the delay of their leadership contest).
Boegman recommends that Elections B.C. be given new tools to regulate digital campaigning and reduce the risks of cheating so that B.C.'s next election is not only fair but seen to be fair.
That's an amusing coincidence with the latest controversy involving President Donald Trump, who is threatening new regulations on social media in response to Twitter "fact-checking" his recent Tweets relating to his campaign to win a second term in the election later this year.
Trump's action of course triggered immediate negative reactions from his opponents but something does need to be done to stop giants like Twitter and Facebook from intervening in the political process in unfair ways which obviously they already have been doing for years, such as muting or blocking accounts they don't like and promoting accounts they do like.
John Twigg ... is a long-time independent journalist and occasional partisan activist now based in Campbell River.
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