I am truly fortunate to live in Prague inside the Czech Republic [see photo]. This is a city of around 1.5 million people in a nation that has a total population of about 10.5 million. The city itself is compact. It is a place that one can walk around, get lost in, and keep right on walking to easily find his or her way home. Of course there is an excellent transport system [trams, buses, and metro trains, etc] to whisk you from over here to over there. While each and every walk offers a new adventure to delight me.
Today [31st August 2021] the city is largely open [it is buzzing again] as the lockdown mandates are gently lifted. More people are on the streets however the usual seasonal influx of tourists has not occurred this year. As I walk the streets I note that most people do not wear a mask. And this is a great relief as I have been a virtual prisoner in my home for a large proportion of the last one-and-a-half years due to a series of country-wide Covid lockdowns. I should mention here that 30, 400 people have die due to causes associated with the Covid-19 virus. Thankfully this number has remained steady for an extended period. Furthermore, about 50% of the Czech population has been fully vaccinated. The news about vaccinations is stark however because the current plan is to roll-out a booster shot beginning in mid-September 2021. I sense that an ominous vaccine cloud hangs in the air and it is more deadly than the virus. Increasingly there is a gentle distinction being drawn between those who have been vaccinated and those who have not. Because this is an opaque marker it seems highly likely it will soon become transparent via vaccine passports that can be strictly, or loosely, policed.
Mandated mask wearing inside Supermarkets, Cinemas, Malls, etc have transformed all shopping trips into such a regimented experience that it reminds me of the famous Seinfeld episode featuring the soup nazi. At times the shoppers seem robotic behind their masks. Many studiously avoid eye contact and act as if they are caught inside a fear paradigm. Their fear of the unknown seems to ensure they wear a mask even if they are fully vaccinated, have had Covid, or have no presenting symptoms related to this particular virus [remember only those with presenting symptoms can spread this virus]. Meanwhile, the mask mandates are not strictly enforced at present and I guess this is because we are about to have an election. Post the election [especially if the incumbents are returned] I expect the mandate nation of Czech Republic to be in full bloom.
Returning to the reasons I am so happy to live in the Czech Republic. First, the Czech people have known a totalitarian rule before [USSR styled oppression]. Second, the Czech Republic remains linked to the EU but not fully integrated into that totalitarian system of government. Third, the Czech people are quirky and therefore have the potential to be a community that can rival what Viktor Orban has steadfastly preserved in Hungary. Fourth, home is where you most feel at home and Prague is that place for me right now. Fifth, there are many delights here that I have not yet come to fully appreciate. And so on and so on....
Richard.
Yorumlar