Sir, – The analysis offered by Finn McRedmond of the Covid pandemic, and of how the views of both left-wing and right-wing political groups in hindsight seem untenable and so amount to an endorsement of centrist attitudes, is perceptive (“Covid was a new contour in an existing culture war”, Opinion & Analysis, May 11th).
However, I’d suggest it omits to mention two other important aspects of the political fallout from the period. These are that the traditional meanings of the political wings have become blurred or even reversed, and that it is essentially no longer possible to communicate with individuals across the whole spectrum.
Being conservative in the political sense clearly implies a desire to hold dear – and so conserve – the institutions of the state.
Over centuries this had come to mean a respect for state authority, and even its military, strong attachment to traditional religions and family values and, in economic terms, to paying one’s debts or the avoidance of borrowing entirely.
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That, prior to the pandemic, Donald Trump and Boris Johnson were regarded as major global conservative politicians therefore defies comprehension.
And it was equally bizarre that it was their support base who rejected the right of the state to impose curfews or lockdowns, or require people to wear masks. There are few things more obviously right wing than uniformity of dress or behaviour being imposed in the national interest.
Equally, the ready acceptance of these steps by left-wing ideologists, those who a generation earlier embraced free-living, risk-taking behaviour and hippy lifestyles, was also remarkable and incongruous.
The problem of news sources and of online “echo chambers” wherein our existing views and prejudices are fed back to us as facts was appreciated prior to the pandemic but I’m not sure it was seen as an existential threat. The absurdity of precisely where people sought advice on healthcare and containment strategies, such as vaccination or treatment, would scarcely have been believed until a few years ago.
Perhaps by definition Irish Times readers can be said to seek information from a credible and reputable source. It might surprise many then to consider that very large numbers of people were influenced by bizarre opinions on Facebook or an popular podcasts such as that from Joe Rogan, a stand-up comedian with some expertise in martial arts. As a hospital doctor during the pandemic, I was amazed at the beliefs held by many patients admitted with Covid pneumonitis after vaccination was widely available, and having refused it. But it seemed clear that nothing printed in a medical journal, a reliable data source or what I would regard as a newspaper would reach, let alone influence, them.
It was fortunate that the infection in the recent pandemic was not more lethal statistically, and that a safe and effective vaccine was produced so rapidly.
But the practical matters of ideological polarisation it revealed and of how irrationally many people proved to be in regard to risk-benefit analysis are bracing realities and illustrate that we acutely lack reliable methods to address disinformation. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN O’BRIEN,
Kinsale,
Co Cork.