Prairie Post (West Edition)

Both sides think they’re right

- BY RYAN DAHLMAN IT’S GETTING NASTY.

With different businesses and groups having exemptions, and others not, it is getting crunch time for the provinces to get a grip on the Covid-19 situation.

On the one hand hospitals and doctors are starting to push the panic buttons as numbers graphicall­y continue to increase like the shape of a Mt. Everest elevation graph in both Alberta and Southwest Sask. held the dubious distinctio­n of being the region with the first cases of the Brazilian variant for the province. However, there are many who truly believe Covid-19 is being blown completely out of proportion and the social restrictio­ns and the vaccine nothing short of dangerous and criminal.

There is a lot of blame to go around. The provincial government­s can be argued are in a tough position because they obviously want to stop the spread of Covid-19 and its variants while at the same time ensure the economy doesn't come to a complete halt.

No consistenc­y and that is causing issues.

There are stay at home orders being requested by some and others are saying we are living in a totalitari­an states.

Some people are following the rules, others are ignoring recommenda­tions by flying out of the country or are circumvent­ing the rules upon arrival from outside of Canada. Some businesses and people are getting heavy fines for doing things like going to protest rallies, for example, there were protestors which were well over a 100 people yet only four received fines.

A restaurant in Medicine Hat was given closure orders for ignoring calls to comply with Alberta Health Services orders, yet stayed open. And who can forget Grace Life Church who had fences erected when pastors and management there ignored AHS/RCMP orders.

Everyone wants to be treated equal, unfortunat­ely, there's none of that. With many people mistrustin­g of government, big business and sadly medical officials — the people we need to be trusting to keep society intact, people are taking it upon themselves to fight, protest or making look bad the side they oppose.

In the book Animal Farm, author George Orwell wrote: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

During these ultra grey days, there are no real villains or real heroes except those who work in the medical fields and those who continue to keep our society functionin­g (truck drivers, those in the food industry, educators etc). No matter what side of the fence you stand on: anti masking/Covid is overhyped or pro-masking/ Covid is dangerous: each side thinks the other is in the wrong and are getting away with criminalit­y.

Our fractured society will need a lot of healing whenever this is all over.

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