Death by Scepticism

IT IS NOT VERY often we find ourselves in a bind; between a rock and a hard place, between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army, yet here we are. A few months ago some believed that we had seen the back of Covid 19, as the cases were relatively low and many had settled in a place of complacency.

In those times, for a moment, the shouts against the mandatory vaccination sounded louder than the other voices we had gotten used to as if there was a short pause, as nature took its course.

Within the past weeks the news of the surge in the positive Covid 19 cases has taken some by surprise and it appears that what we had experienced during the months of July and August was merely the calm before the storm. Today, Vincentians can only observe as the chickens come home to roost and everything hits the fan.

A majority of our people are fearful, misguided, misinformed, untrusting and if I dare to say spiteful. The sad reality is that this has left us unable for one reason or another, to make a rationale decision for ourselves. The scepticism towards our leaders has become so ripened that many believe that the information that is disseminated is flawed, manipulated and designed to defraud the populace in exchange for a big payday. Consequently, many are at risk of death by scepticism.

It seems that our corporations have taken a less aggressive approach to their mandatory vaccination policy. One may even argue that corporate attention has shifted from current employees to incoming employees as corporate leaders await the government to make the first move, so they will not be held responsible for the damage to employee morale as a result of demanding that staff be fully vaccinated. Even so, what are corporate leaders left to do? Many have allowed staff the time and have provided the necessary information to make a well informed decision.

What our leaders received in return was a growing mountain of scepticism and blatant irresponsibility regarding the adherence of established protocols.

As a people we need be very careful on the road to which we now tread. While the wealth of information and misinformation can partly be blamed for our uncertainty, we are intelligent people and the time has come for us to decide for ourselves or risk death by scepticism.

Dr. Wendyann Richardson is a Management Consultant who specializes in corporate governance, business operations management and refining of skills through training.

She can be reached at refiningleadersinstitute@ gmail.com