Dick Pound and the Vaccine

 

Dick Pound is a Canadian who is currently the longest serving member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).  Last week he stated that Olympic athletes should get priority for the COVID-19 vaccine.  This would presumably be every athlete who has been selected or hopes to be selected to compete in this summer’s games in Tokyo.  This so that the games could go on and entertain the many millions of people who are waiting at home to watch these games.  After all, why waste that vaccine on old people who are just going to die in the next few years, many from Covid-19?  Why waste the vaccine on ordinary people who’s only role is to watch and extol these athletes?

If this is, in fact the premise, why stop at Olympic athletes?  Don’t professional sports teams also entertain folks stuck at home?  It was reported late last year that at least one sports league had tried to buy enough vaccine doses to vaccinate all of its players.  So, all sports league players, coaches and staff should also get priority.  Celebrities also entertain us so they, as well as all actors, directors, producers, should also be on that priority list.  I mean life would not be worth much if we could not watch the Kardashians every week. Politicians are also a source of entertainment so all of them should be included.  At least they will remain healthy enough to keep telling us to stay home.

It is called privilege and it is all about us.  None of the people I have mentioned would deny that they should be “saved” by getting the vaccine.  Of course, it is us ordinary, stay at home, trying to stay safe, trying to make ends meet folks who have contributed to their privilege.  We extol their abilities or their beauty. We bathe in their glory.  We do everything we can to make them feel special.  We put up with their shenanigans and their bad behaviour.  We have made them special, so they think they are entitled to special treatment like being in the priority line for things like vaccine. 

The Power of the Demagogue

 

The Constitution gives every American the inalienable right to make a damn fool of himself.
  - John Ciardi

Many people in the United States and in Canada are holding their breath these days, waiting for January 20^th.  Why?  Because there is a demagogue loose in the US and he is the current president.  On January 20^th, this president will be replaced, we hope peacefully, by a new president who seems to be more liberal and tolerant.  But the demagogue has already shown his colours by encouraging his rabid followers to attack the US Capital building during the process of certifying the new president.

There have been demagogues throughout history.  Perhaps the most infamous in recent times has been Adolph Hitler who mesmerized an entire nation with his hate and scorn filled speeches and proclamations.  We understand his outbursts because recordings of some of them still exist.  But you can imagine others who must have been as effective:  Napoleon; Alexander the Great; even Charles de Gualle.  They all could excite and mobilize an army or a nation.  But some now call these people heroes and saviours.  I cannot see the same thing happen to Donald Trump, except by his hard-core believers.

What can Donald Trump do is his last week in office?  He can try again to get his followers to upset the inauguration of Joe Biden.  Many of his followers are gun owners, white supremacists and far right “militias”.  Can he call on them one more time to create mayhem or worse?  There has been talk about a civil war in the US.  Such a thought is terrifying both for many Americans and their immediate neighbours. 

The first duty of a revolutionary is to get away with it.
  - Abbie Hoffman

Just as I was writing the above paragraph, the news broke that the FBI had uncovered plans for armed invasions of all state capitals and Washington.  It may not be President Trump who is orchestrating these events, but he has certainly laid the groundwork for them.  The possibilities of even a few of these armed threats succeeding is horrifying in the extreme.  How many people will be injured or killed?  Five dead last week in what was billed as a peaceful demonstration can only give us a clue.

Some of his avenues to vent his thoughts have been taken from him, and I applaud Twitter and Facebook for doing that, but as the president, he still has ways of communicating.  What news medium can resist the opportunity to quote the president?  He has been THE story for the last four or more years so why stop coverage now.  The far-right press will always give him a platform, probably long after he has left the White House.  Stand by for more from this demagogue.

“Man is a credulous animal and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones.”
  - Bertrand Russell

 

A Christmas Quiz - Answers

1.      One of the most beloved pieces of music at Christmas is the aria Ave Maria. Two versions of this classic were composed, one by a German composer and one by a French.  Who were the two composers?  When listening to it, you should be able to tell by the second note which is which.  How?  Which is which?

Franz Schubert (German) wrote one version and Charles Gounod (French) wrote the other.  At the beginning of the singing part, Schubert’s version the second note is lower than the first, whereas Gounod’s version that note is higher.

2.      We have no reference about what time of year Jesus was borne.  How did December 25^th become the selected date for Christmas?

Early Christians had to be very circumspect how and when they celebrated Christian events.  Most pagan societies had a celebration to mark the winter solstice and the Christians held their Christmas celebration during this time.

3.      The Christmas tree has become a key part of holiday decorating.  Where did the tradition of the Christmas tree originate?

By all accounts it originated in Germany, again as part of the winter solstice celebrations. Christians accepted pagan rituals like the Christmas tree in order to make Christianity more acceptable to pagan tribes.

4.      In only one year of one war was there a spontaneous truce on the night of Christmas Eve.  What war?  What year? Who were the two antagonists who made the truce? Who objected?  Which side started the truce? How?

The only known such event took place during the First World War on Christmas Eve 1914.  This was perhaps the first war in Europe that continued to fight in winter.  Most previous wars had not fought during the winter.  The antagonists that participated in the truce were the Germans and British.  Their officers sternly objected to the truce, concerned that it might weaken the men’s fighting spirit.  There was no truce on the French front. German troops started the truce when one of their number started to sing.  The song he began with was “Annie Laurie”.