April 2, 2021 · 0 Comments
By Brian Lockhart – From The Second Row
There is a scene in the movie Amadeus that takes place after the debut of Wolfgang Mozart’s newest composition at the opera house in Vienna.
It is set in the late 18th century amid the pageantry, powdered wigs, and nobility of Central Europe.
Mozart was an innovator in his time. He explored new possibilities in music.
This new piece was whimsical, lively and full of life.
While those in the audience appreciated the new piece, the style was new to them.
After the performance, the Emperor greeted Mozart back stage to congratulate him on this newest work.
He had but one criticism.
There were in some parts, he said “too many notes.” He followed that up by saying “There are only so many notes an ear can hear in the course of an evening.”
It seems the piece had broken new ground and was unlike anything the royal court had heard before.
Mozart is stunned at the ridiculous criticism of his work.
He responds, “I don’t understand – there are just as many notes that I require, your Majesty, neither more nor less.”
It just shows that no matter how hard you work on something, or how good it is, there is always some person that will see fit to criticize.
Currently we are in a situation that is frustrating, challenging, and possibly life threatening.
There has been a lot of criticism recently over things like vaccines and who will get them first.
There are complaints about shortages and why some groups are being served first when getting the shot in the arm.
So lets take a step back and take a look at this entire situation.
A year ago, nobody even knew what COVID-19 was. It started out as some kind of virus that seemed to be affecting people in one city in China.
Of course, we all know the story from there.
However, this pandemic is unprecedented. It has not happened before with the current generations alive on this planet.
Putting plans into gear to combat a virus that was making its way through the population wasn’t easy.
It certainly has caused some hardships, but most people with few exceptions have followed the program with little complaint.
No, we don’t like wearing masks, and no we don’t like that fact that we haven’t been to a restaurant, a movie, a party, or concert in over a year.
This will be our second Easter where families are discouraged from getting together.
Many sports teams will be losing their second full season.
The provincial government has taken a lot of heat lately, especially from certain groups.
However, the government has done what they were supposed to do in a case like this. They took advice from the experts, and relied on that advice.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford must have been quite shocked when he first received the news that this virus was making its way to our country and the seriousness of the situation was explained.
His response was immediate. He didn’t delay, he didn’t get into political debates, and he didn’t waffle on decisions.
In a case where something is going to affect the population’s health, there is no time to debate or ask for opinions. You can only rely on the current data and the expertise provided by those who are experts in the field.
Now we have the vaccines arriving. And people are still complaining we aren’t getting them fast enough or there isn’t enough of a supply to get everyone vaccinated.
Let’s look at the numbers. Canada’s current population is close to 38 million. If everyone needs two doses for it to be effective, that’s 76 million doses needed – and just in our country.
Considering the speed which with this vaccine was created, we’re off to a good start.
I don’t know how vaccines are produced, and most people don’t – but producing 76 million units of anything is one giant undertaking. Then add in another 600 million doses needed by our neighbors to the south, several hundred million more needed in Europe, and continue counting.
That’s a huge undertaking.
So if you don’t get your dose in the next week, maybe consider the logistics of just having this huge amount created and given out to the population.
Sometimes you just have to appreciate the effort for what it is rather than criticize for what you think it isn’t.