Ready or not, Covid 19 is here. Despite trying gamely to live up
to his political hero, the Mayor in Jaws, our Prime Minister
has now, reluctantly, agreed to start the process of shutting down modern,
post-industrial life. What lies ahead is grim, but, as the old saying goes, a
crisis is also an opportunity.
Environmentalists in the whole
like to talk about how to replace the 'essentials' of modern life with greener
alternatives; renewable energy, electric cars, ethical jobs and low-impact
products. Fair enough, as this is the language people listen to. What we tend
to do in our own lives though is actually ditch these trappings of modern life:
turn off the TV, leave the car behind, ditch the high-pressure job and buy
less. We walk the walk, but we tend not to talk the talk. Now that needs to
stop. Coronavirus is forcing the whole country to live like us, and we need to
use this chance to promote our way of life.
We've been here before. In the
wake of natural, and unnatural disasters in the USA the government has fled
town, and the private sector has not stepped in. People have had to step in and
fend for themselves and their neighbours. Transition Towns became survival
towns. This is going to happen here. Social care will collapse, hospitals will
be overrun and your vulnerable neighbours will be left stranded. They will need
you. We need to step in.
But as well as making ourselves
useful, and visible, we also need to make ourselves relevant. We need to use
every online forum, and every human contact, to show that a life less
pressured, less mobile and less dependent on technology is a life very much
worth living. We have demonstrated this to ourselves, now we need to show the
world.
The future starts here.
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