V-DAY - The Enemy Within

In London and across this kingdom, united in our resolve, we prepare for the onslaught of this invisible foe. Prime Minister Johnson exhorted the nation to each play their part as individuals such that together we will defeat the common enemy and emerge stronger for our experience.

His rhetoric was reminiscent of Churchill’s much used “Let Us Go Forward Together” theme made famous during our struggle for survival in WWII. Vice Admiral the Lord Nelson’s famously rousing signal “England expects every man to do his duty” doesn’t recognise the vital role of women or the devolved nations but perhaps it echoes the contemporary situation from an unexpected angle.

Nelson had originally dictated “England confides every man to do his duty” but his signals officer observed that ‘expects’ required a single flag yet ‘confides’ would be ten as it would have to be spelt out alphabetically, causing delay and potential confusion. Nelson agreed and expeditiously appended his order for “Close Action”. Nelson was victorious but of course fatally wounded. Nelson is celebrated as a hero and now overlooks Whitehall and Westminster from the moral high ground of Trafalgar Square.

In contrast, the pre-battle communication from No.10 has been unnecessarily complicated and has repeatedly left people confused requiring additional clarification to be issued. It is true that the scientists have updated the plan as we have gained intelligence on the enemy and to reflect the real-time situation on the ground. However, the advice has been crystal clear throughout and focused on minimising loss of life.

The disjointed and contradictory communications therefore presumably reflect a poorly structured compromise bridging conflicting priorities of public health and pressure from the city to avoid economic stagnation. The resulting delays in public compliance are damaging our defence. Nelson understood the importance of a clear mission and unambiguous orders so his message was simple for his people to grasp. He must look down in despair.

But looking forward, I am reminded of the words of the american, General George S Patton who told his men “You are not all going to die. Only two percent of you right here today would be killed in a major battle.” This is numerically very similar to the headline mortality rate attributed to COVID-19 as it started to advance on multiple fronts throughout Asia to Europe and Africa and across the Pacific to the western United States in early February 2020.

In reality, western democracies will likely experience a significantly greater mortality rate. Public information advises that most people get mild symptoms however the remaining 25% get more severe symptoms and many of these require hospital attention. As a result, demand is likely to outstrip capacity for the medical facilities hundreds of times over meaning mortality rates could double or worse. The data are not very clear due to under reporting of untested mild cases.

The arrogance, unpreparedness and disinterest or ignorance of the population coupled with the hesitance of many western political leaders, initially more worried about the economic effects, to take firm action has limited effectiveness of attempts to mitigate this overdemand on health systems. Sadly, the numbers of wounded will also be higher than 2% as many who survive courtesy of the skill of their medical care practitioners could be left severely damaged both physically and mentally by their ordeals as indeed will the professionals who self-sacrificingly attend their fellow citizens.

The developing world, more familiar with the scourge of life threatening contagion is likely to respond more readily to calls to adopt appropriate defences and will readily take immediate preventative action but will be let down by the quantity and quality of their medical facilities made worse by the preoccupation of nations who might normally rush to provide support but are fully engaged assisting their own citizens.

But Patton went on in colourful language to acknowledge that “Every man is scared in his first action. If he says he's not, he's a goddamn liar. But the real hero is the man who fights even though he's scared…” In England, the general population seem blissfully unaware of the odds. Our real heroes are the doctors and nurses of the National Health Service who know that the constant viral loading that they will receive is likely to make them very unwell and in many cases they will fall. They are all scared and they know that when it is their time of need, there will be no one left with experience and proficiency to save them. Truly courageous men and women all.

Patton went on to remind those he led that “ An army is a team. It lives, eats, sleeps, and fights as a team. This individual hero stuff is bullshit. All the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters. Every single man in the army plays a vital role. So don't ever let up. Don't ever think that your job is unimportant.” and today this is equally applicable to the wider NHS team members whether cleaners or drivers or IT staff or those in the community who are caring for those who have been suddenly discharged. It also applies to the teachers who are keeping the children safe whilst their parents serve the nation, the retail workers in our supermarkets and the police and the armed services of course and many others. All are heroes for playing their part.

Patton then encouraged his men saying that “Each man must think not only of himself, but think of his buddy fighting alongside him.” and here in 2020 there are many examples of kindness and selfless acts to support the most vulnerable amongst our communities. However, despite being urged to adopt social distance and isolation, a significant minority chose to view the suspension of normal routine as an extra personal holiday without a thought for the consequences for other people. This selfishness is cowardly as it hides in anonymity those who are, in effect, killers in our midst.

On this topic, Patton who was a general, not a geneticist exclaimed “We don't want yellow cowards in the army. They should be killed off like flies. If not, they will go back home after the war, goddamn cowards, and breed more cowards. The brave men will breed more brave men. Kill off the goddamn cowards and we'll have a nation of brave men.”

Our education system does a great job with some but this is contrasted with swathes of young people who have little curiosity about the world and in common with Patton, a woeful lack of scientific ability. Worse still they hide this deficiency by mocking and disrespecting the sources of evidence that could save their life.

This disrespect and self-entitled behaviour extends to xenophobic or even rascist attitudes that are totally unacceptable in Britain. I recently witnessed some youths jeering at two of their migrant college mates at the bus stop just as COVID-19 entered the vocabulary using taunts that they did not deserve ”our NHS” healthcare in this crisis. I intervened and took a moment to ask them about the heroes of the NHS as I described above. They all agreed and so I told them about those I know working today in the ranks of the NHS.

I explained that many are British but I am so proud of my friends who are NHS doctors and nurses who are from Greece, Italy, Spain, Pakistan, Bulgaria, India, Germany, Israel and Poland who are fighting for us all and so all of them deserve our support and gratitude.

I asked the guys if they thought that was a fair to take their sacrifice and then treat people wh had come to live here like they had just done. I am pleased to report that after a silence first one and then the remainder apologised to their victims and then their bus arrived. They genuinely appeared to be ashamed of themselves.

There’s hope after all. Maybe.

Good Luck.