Dear editor,
This paper’s editorial column two weeks ago declared that it is ‘time to follow COVID-19 orders.’
I agree. If the government requires masks in public buildings, we wear masks. If the government tells us to quarantine when returning to Canada (as I will do soon), we quarantine. As citizens, our responsibility is to obey government orders.
But we can follow orders while asking questions about them. Some questions are about individual restrictions or consistency across all the requirements. Others are more fundamental. To what extent is it healthful to alter normal life for a viral threat? More significantly, should the government make decisions about public health, or are they best left to individuals?
Most of us, including our politicians, simply assume answers to these questions. As a result, many Canadians know what to do without thinking why or whether there is a better alternative. Perhaps we can step back from day-to-day pandemic management to consider basic truths about life and the role of government.
In this case, the time to follow orders is also the time to ask serious questions.
Brendon Johnson,
Courtenay
