My name is Natalie and I live in the west of Scotland. I recently started a podcast called Imagining Freedom, which focuses on our rights and freedoms, mainly from a UK perspective, as I think they are under threat and have been for some time.
I had been planning to do a podcast for months, but it was delayed due to some major life events – my mum died in December, following a stroke, after which I decided to move out of my flat. I had moved everything into storage and was about to put the flat on the market, when the coronavirus crisis struck.
I had moved into my Mum's flat on a temporary basis, to start clearing it out, when the lockdown happened, so I'm stuck here for the time being. To be honest, it's a nice flat and not a bad place to be stuck.
My country is in lockdown
I think the lockdown is a terrible idea. I don't think it will help the Covid-19 situation over the long term, because when the rules are eased, many people will have no immunity to the virus, and their immune system is likely to be weaker than normal due to lack of fresh air and sunlight, and emotional stress.
I think it would be much more sensible to protect the most vulnerable – the very elderly and people with compromised immune systems – and allow them to be sheltered, as well as anyone else who is fearful of getting the disease.
However, I am fully co-operating with the lockdown, and with social distancing, because I have been told it is necessary in order to prevent the hospitals from being overwhelmed, and I'm not so arrogant that I'll go against something that almost everyone else thinks is right.
I personally would prefer to take a chance with the disease, hopefully building up some immunity, instead of shielding myself from it.
That's my opinion, and I don't want to impose it on others. I'm taking enormous care to keep my distance from other people, in case they are nervous about the possibility of me being a carrier.
A crisis of democracy
What does worry me is the way that the crisis is being used to demolish our rights and freedoms. This is what I have been discussing in my podcasts. I think the real crisis is a crisis of democracy.
We may be on the verge of tyranny.
Many people will disagree with me, but I think we should all have a right to freedom of speech and freedom of opinion. Being forced to think in a certain way is a sure sign of tyranny.
I have some sympathy with people who don't see this crisis in the same way that I do. People are scared out of their wits due to Covid-19, and some people have lost friends and relatives. I know three people who have been ill, probably with coronavirus, although we do not have testing in the UK so it can't be confirmed.
I'm planning to post my podcasts on DSound. I hope you enjoy listening to them.
My other Hive account
I was on Steemit as "Natubat" for three years, and that account continues on Hive.
(Natubat was a nickname I got in my previous place of employment many years ago. It started off as "Nat the Bat" and then developed from there 😁)
I decided to set up a different account for Imagining Freedom, because my Natubat account is where I write about my favourite hobbies of hillwalking, scrambling and climbing. I don't want to confuse my followers.
Image credits
Both images are by Onyx Matryx on Pixabay, at the following links:
https://pixabay.com/illustrations/brainwash-brainwashed-brainwashing-5034015/
https://pixabay.com/photos/quarantine-isolation-corona-5067938/