This is what I wrote in my first newsletter of 2020:
I believe that 2020 will be a pivotal year in Canada.
A year when like-minded individuals who ‘see’ the walls of suppression
of Canadian freedoms closing in,
will need to stand shoulder to shoulder to continue to bring truth into the public square.
Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined how true these words would become. We all started off 2020 with busy schedules only to find them collapse with Covid 19 lockdowns.
I was able though, to successfully complete part of my African trip before having to return home due to Covid restrictions and have been able to continue my work on the subject of ‘conversion therapy’ from my home office during this year, apart from a couple trips to Calgary for videotaping and speaking at a rally in Ottawa.
As the spring and summer progressed I, along with many others, had concerns regarding the continual flood of Covid information from media sources seemingly catastrophizing this virus. It became obvious that, as Dr. David Katz indicates, there were only two paths in the snow: the far left position maintained by local news channels which are prone to extremism; or the far right position prone to denial; two very different ideologies. For a full review of Dr. Katz’s interview see: (6) Science AND Sense In Our COVID Response (w/Dr. David Katz) – YouTube
The left ideology maintains that if you don’t do everything to protect everyone from Covid 19 you’re like a genocidal maniac. The right ideology maintain that the risk was minimal and people need to get back to work to keep the economy going. There seemed to be no way of slogging through the snow on middle ground between these two mindsets.
Media outlets are committed a ‘if it bleeds, it leads’ commentary. Peter Dunne (1902) stated that one of the roles of journalism is “to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” https://www.thorncoyle.com/comfort-the-afflicted-afflict-the-comfortable
There are times we need to be ‘afflicted’ to raise awareness, but Covid 19 has presented a field day for media – an endless source of drama on the evening news. Hear me out: I’m not saying that Covid doesn’t exist or that it hasn’t devastated lives. It absolutely has. But the issue remains that the devastation will continue long after Covid has run its course. Let me give you one example. According to Dr. Katz, there have been about 300,000 deaths due to Covid 19 in 2020 in the US; yet every year there are 500,000 deaths due to poor diet quality (obesity, cardio metabolic health, etc.) . Such realities seem ignored by media. The inconsistency is truly astonishing. If we are going to be morally outraged at death – let’s at least be consistent about it.
All stories need to be linked to context. The larger picture needs to be presented in order for the truth to be realized. That’s the new path to forged through the snow. Reporting on one child dying from Covid 19, without reporting on underlying comorbidity, while pressing for lockdown of schools is one sided at least and lacks compassion for the masses of struggling students who will suffer from lack of instruction.
Another aspect of the bigger picture is one that has troubled me tremendously – that of the aged, the most vulnerable. We have learned to add years to life, but at what cost? Are we really adding life to years? Covid 19 policies have allowed our elderly to die isolated from family at the very time when they need us most. Letting these people die without being surrounded by family is for them a fate worse than death itself. I believe we need to be empowering people to understand and mitigate the risk then make informed choices for their own wellbeing.
As we look back at the biggest story of 2020, we need to evaluate risk in all areas of life, as generations before us have done. There is a risk to living and that is inevitable death. Dealing with fear of death is probably one of the greatest things we will accomplish. We risk dying every time we drive a car, ski down a mountain, scuba dive, ride a horse… but we still do these things. We mitigate risk as much as possible, but some risk is always there and it will be there in the area of disease.
If we don’t learn to forge a new path between catastrophizing and denial in every area of life, we will find ourselves and our country even more divided in 2021. You and I can be part of the conversation, bringing truth to light, not being overwhelmed by the media’s continuous laser focus on one aspect to the demise of all else and by remaining close to the God who gives us Hope.
Onward and Upward in 2021!
Stand Firm Walk Cautiously Live Courageously
