By Tania de Jong
The great Albert Einstein said: “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it”. Our politicians and public servants need to find a new way of dealing with the pandemic which empowers rather than disempowers Australians. With premiers around the country demanding zero cases before they open borders and remove their draconian lockdowns, it is not surprising that people around the nation (and the world) wonder if Australia can ever get out of the mess our governments have created.
One moment we are getting some of our freedoms and a little of the joy of life returning, and in the next we are ruthlessly pushed back into our boxes by our fear-peddling premiers hiding behind their overwhelmed health officers. Under the pretext of protecting and saving us from our terrible fates they misrepresent, misinform, obfuscate, coerce, bully, intimidate and play political one-upmanship and it is time we, the public, wake up.
Enormous anger and frustration echoes across our communities accompanied by sorrow, despair and loss of hope. We are lonely, isolated, imprisoned, scared and sick.
Scared of what this nation is becoming and sick of the premiers’ daily posturing. Our hopes, dreams, milestones, rites of passage, businesses, relationships are being trampled on. We are simply pawns in the political games of heartless leaders who only care about the next election. They defend all of this with the catchcry of saving lives when what is really happening is the destruction and diminishing of lives and livelihoods.
Sadly, zero is not a faint possibility because this virus is everywhere and will be around for a long time to come. No number of tests will find all the asymptomatic cases and the virus will continue to spread. Vaccinations do not prevent people contracting the virus, and sadly some will die. Many more die from other causes that are not reported on daily.
Please stop the fear-mongering and start sharing information and solutions about how people can protect themselves and their loved ones. We did not elect our premiers to be our mothers and fathers. They need to back off and allow us to look after our beloved Mums and Dads, children and loved ones without their intimidating interference. We are sick to death of the daily political theatrics and the stern, controlling commands of overpaid politicians and public servants who know (or share) very little of the true facts. They appear to ignore the destruction their decisions and cherry-picked data causes.
Why aren’t they sharing the fact that there are safe, cheap and effective medicines that can treat and prevent Covid-19 successfully with minimal side effects? There is abundant evidence supporting the use of Ivermectin (as both a relatively safe prophylactic and early treatment). Zinc and Vitamin D3 are also supported by abundant evidence as effective antivirals both in prevention and in early treatment protocols. Aspirin, steroids and anti-histamines are being used in the poorest regions of South Africa and other nations to heal thousands of people with Covid in a matter of days, without any long-lasting effects. Furthermore, these communities are being taught how to use these protocols so they can detect early signs and never reach an emergency ward.
Australian doctors have an obligation to investigate these treatments and to offer the choice of preventative or early treatment alternatives to their patients.
Tens of thousands of doctors from around the world have formed Covid Medical Networks because they care deeply. And every doctor, like any individual, must answer to their own conscience. Doctors in particular answer to the Hippocratic Oath, ‘primum non nocere’ or ‘first do no harm’.
In the current context, the people of Australia face unprecedented, pervasive and coercive “States of Emergency” with restrictions to liberty, all in the name of public health and the new ‘God of Safety’. “Flattening the curve” for a few weeks has become 18 months of fear, anxiety and control. We have on/off blanket lockdowns, mask “mandates”, coercion to a new, as yet unproven vaccine technology, invasions to privacy in the forms of QR check-in codes and severe economic and emotional stress. Meanwhile, 400 Australians die every day from all causes and yet, in all of 2021 to date, there are just a handful of registered deaths, nearly all in the very elderly with multiple co-morbidities, attributed to Covid 19.
99.86% of people on average survive Covid and the risk of death from Covid for those under 70 is extremely low. Compare that to the thousands of suicides and other ‘deaths of despair’ caused by lockdowns and loss of livelihoods, self-esteem, meaning and purpose. The extent of the damage caused by lockdowns includes significant long-term harm to mental and physical health, missed cancer and other medical screening, disruption of education, breakdown of employment and fractured family relations. For those of you who support or benefit from harsh lockdowns, your children and grandchildren will pay a huge price in the future for your lack of foresight.
Evidence to date from multiple global comparisons supports the conclusion that there is a lack of relationship between the stringency of restrictions and lowering of mortality. Indeed, if anything, restrictions appear more harmful than helpful with delayed medical care for other illnesses resulting in many deaths, increased morbidity and adverse psychological impact. The Journal of Psychiatric Research has recently published results of a survey of 1157 Victorians conducted in September 2020 in which 9.5% of respondents reported having seriously considered suicide in the previous 30 days; 33.4% reported symptoms of anxiety or depression and 12.3% reported starting or increasing their use of substances to manage their emotions – all significant increases on earlier research.
Our governments need to expand their advisory groups to include education, mental health, welfare, creative, business and industry leaders. Australia needs compassionate, responsible and caring humans from all walks of life and sectors to lead us out of this repeating nightmare before we fall off the global map entirely.
Einstein also said: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. Australia is supposed to be a united nation, so please allow free movement and start empowering your people. If we do not want to live in a constant state of uncertainty about closed borders and snap lockdowns, we will and can learn to live with this virus. We are Australians and we can do this together.
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This piece was originally published in Spectator Australia and is reproduced here with the kind permission of the author.
Tania de Jong AM is a soprano, speaker and award-winning social entrepreneur and philanthropist. She Tweets at @taniadejong.
