Freedom of choice

My least favourite phrase used to be “first-world problem” … because what other sort of problem was someone living in the first world supposed to have?

Ironically, COVID-19 means the whole world shares the same problem for the first time.

Rather than bringing us closer together, it feels like we’ve never been further apart. “World news” is as limited as international travel. Well, other than the latest wild uttering by Trump.

I read an eye-widening article in The Australian by three Aussie female entrepreneurs last night that ripped into the current COVID restrictions in Australia.

“People die every day; part of life is death,” said the chief executive of experience company RedBalloon, Naomi Simson. “We have to learn to live with the virus; we don’t stop work when influenza comes.

“When I look at the Queensland and Victorian premiers they have never worked in business and do not understand the precious nature of a customer and employees.”

Meanwhile, fellow entrepreneur Tania de Jong said Australians were “being brain washed”.

“The so-called ‘cures’ – curfews, lockdowns and border closures – are destroying us as individuals and our country as a whole,” she said.

Julie Parker, a dental and health entrepreneur based in Melbourne, added: “They have taken into consideration shoddy scientific evidence and ignored other scientific evidence in order to go down this path. Our freedom to earn money has been taken away.”

I was a bit shocked by their blunt words. But I suppose you don’t become a business tycoon by mincing them.

I don’t know what to think any more in this crazy COVID-driven world. However, I don’t think we should be cheerily reopening Australia to the rest of the world just yet.

Reopening Australia internally – other than Victoria – is open for debate with me though.

I wish there was a way to do it that saved jobs without sacrificing lives. I am deeply concerned about the rising number of people struggling to pay their bills.

I’m curious – what do you think about the internal borders? Are you for or against?

Aside from the economic impact of it, part of me thinks it’s dividing Australia in more ways than just physical road blocks.

So I agree with Simson on one point, when she said: “I thought we were one Australia not five countries.”

I may regret voicing that thought out loud though …

Song of the day: DEVO “Freedom of choice”