Politics During a Global Emergency

The current emergency situation is not like anything anybody has ever seen.

For the most part national emergencies are really regional emergencies.  Excessive flooding in Winnipeg or Gatineau, wildfires in Red Deer, or some other natural disaster that impacts 100s of thousand people are what usually constitute "national emergencies".  None of these are to be sneezed at.  They are indeed serious situations where quick action by governments will save lives and livelihoods.  However, their impact outside of their region is non-existent.  Certainly, people not impacted are sympathetic but they continue to live their lives as normal saying a little prayer "But for the grace of God....

In these kinds of national emergencies politics pretty much goes on as normal.  Certainly at the beginning the government has the monopoly on media coverage as the initial shock sets in but very soon afterwards people settle into the new normal and politics follows suit.

This situation is different.  All Canadians are impacted by the COVID 19 virus emergency.  No one and no region has been spared.  Further the emergency is relentless.  Day after day and night after night we receive more bad news and we are being asked to make huge sacrifices that could last months.  There has been no let-up.  Further it is slammed home every day that Canada is not the only country impacted by this.  It is global.  It is unprecedented.  

All of that should be enough to convince our political and ruling class that the very nature of politics is changing with each bit of bad news.  Gone are the days when Canadians are going to care about little things.  All they care about is the virus and its impacts.  Are their family and friends safe?  How am I going to pay the rent?  Where can I get much needed groceries?  In short the concerns of Canadians and others around the world have become primal.

Unfortunately a significant number of our political and ruling class does not seem to grasp this fact.  They just don't get it.  Fortunately, they are outnumbered by those who do get it and thankfully they are the ones responsible for navigating the country through these time.

At some point in the future all of this is going to pass.  It might not seem that it will but it will.  When it does some semblance of normalcy will exist but the scar this is going to leave on the collective psyche will not fade quickly.  Neither will the memories of voters when it comes to who stepped up during the crisis and who did not.  

So my advice to those who are still playing politics like we are not living through a deadly global pandemic is to stop.  All of the "unwritten rules" for politics that existed a few short months ago are gone.  If you do not figure this out and adjust to it you will pay a price in the future and it could be a heavy one.