IN the space of a week coronavirus has gone from a vague future threat to a scourge which has changed how we view the world we live in.
It is unarguable that these are unsettling times ... and not just because of the health threat posed by the virus.
The reality is that most of us will not be infected by coronavirus and most of those who are infected will recover more or less unscathed. But today we all feel less safe, less secure and less certain about the future shape of our lives.
In Hollywood blockbusters which portray nightmare effects of a virus outbreak, the sickness usually means certain death and the ensuing panic is fuelled by spiralling mortality rates. We now know that in reality a virus can change our world by placing too much pressure on health services, wiping fortunes off the stock market and depriving us of pleasures of life we took for granted just days ago, such as films, live music and communal entertainment.
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All this is not to minimise the very real risk to life faced by the elderly, the already sick and those with breathing problems. There will be deaths and very many families will suffer sad losses.
There are other, less immediate threats we must be also be aware of. Some of the measures introduced to combat the virus elsewhere in the world smack dangerously of authoritarianism.
We need to guard against the UK Government slipping into the same mindset and some of the measures reported to be in Westminster ministers’ out-trays suggest we need to be mindful of that risk.
Our lives will change in new ways in the coming days. More and more universities are closing and although at the time of writing Scottish schools are expected to open tomorrow, it is almost certain they will close after the Easter break, if not before. But even in these unsettling times there are signs of communities working together to help each other and protect the most vulnerable. We must all do what we can to aid those efforts.
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We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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