The Better Angels Of Our Nature

So here I am. Day one of seven on my latest round of shifts. A long haul of earlies, late shifts, and nights to look forward to. You might assume that things are busier here, but actually no. Far from it. It is deathly. We’ve had to strip things back to the bare bones to ensure officers are in the right places and that we can eek out the resources we have left. Social distancing is the new normal in the Control Room, with everybody being professional and good humoured. I overhear one or two obsessing about Covid 19, one young girl in particular who’s name I won’t mention. Every 3rd word that leaves her mouth is Corona. Bit tedious, but I suppose I understand. None of us have walked this road before, and we’re all kind of feeling our way through it. I can see from the media there have been some missteps in respect of the new Police powers. If you weren’t expecting this then you are just a tad naïve. The thing to bear in mind about those of us who fall under the umbrella term of Key Worker is that we are just the same as you. No special abilities, no unseen strength or wisdom. We’re just part of a collective trying to make things a bit easier for the wider public during this unique period in our history. Be under no illusion that we are at war. It’s a bit of a shock that the enemy isn’t pointing assault weapons or dropping large explosives on us, although I have heard that an X-ray of a late stage Covid 19 patient is not similar to having a bomb go off in your lungs. We have no special powers to assist us here. In fact the new currency, the thing of real value is good old fashioned common sense. Diligence. Calm. We’re actually going to have to reign ourselves in if we want to fast track through this. If we all play nice, all observe the guidance, then perhaps we may see a light at the end of the tunnel. It used to be a joke that staying in was the new going out. Oh the things we took for granted. I fully expect that our household will go a bit stir crazy at some point, although the dog is positively serene. Always somebody to snuggle beside. For my part, I’ve stopped feeling anxious. I’m in focus mode know. I know what has to be done so that is what I will do. We know what the enemy is, and we know how to beat it. We have to bore it to death, cut off its supply chain. Starve it. That’s how we overcome. Not by some heroic individual act, but with a collective willpower not seen for many a generation. It occurs to me that when it really matters we denizens of this emerald isle are more than capable of getting our heads down and getting on with it. And the humour that I’ve encountered during recent weeks has been a wonder to me. My favourite still concerns the North of England changing its emergency status to “Put Kettle On”. I hear the next phase is “Open digestives, love”, but I hope it doesn’t come to that. Anyway, well done to all of you are doing the right thing, resisting the conspiracy theories. An even bigger thanks to those who are looking out for other’s. Checking on neighbours, showing everybody a bit of extra kindness. A thousand little kindnesses will make a world of difference when times are hard, but we have to choose to be kind. We have to resist the urge to lash out. I don’t know whether you have heard the phrase “A rising tide lifts all boats.” . There is a truth to this notion. Look outward, upward. Be wiser, calmer, more compassionate. We need the better angels of our nature to rise to the surface now. Truth is, we always did.