58. The hero's tragedy
I had
the misfortune a few days ago of hearing Donald Trump talking about health
workers drawing a war hero metaphor. They go to work, with no protection, they
probably should not, but they risk their lives for us. Trump concludes that It
is beautiful to see them do this. In this conclusion, he is misunderstanding
the concept of the hero. It is not beautiful that anyone has to put their life
on the line, in war or in a pandemic. It is, rather, a tragedy. The sacrifice
of the hero may be exalted, admired and praised. It often deserves it. But it
is also reflective of a failure. The failure of a society that puts its
soldiers, or its health workers, in a position in which they have to choose abandoning
their dignity or making the ultimate sacrifice. This failure is ugly and
unbecoming. I would expect a leader to describe as sad, to undertake to do
everything possible to prevent it. We don’t want heroes. We want effective,
well supplied, well funded and well organised emergency services
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