The blog of Alun Rees, The Dental Business Coach
“But you know as well as I, patriotism is a word; and one that generally comes to mean either my country, right or wrong, which is infamous, or my country is always right, which is imbecile.”
Spoken by Dr Stephen Maturin in the first of Patrick O’Brian‘s Aubrey & Maturin novels, Master and Commander. Stephen, part Irish & part Catalan, is discussing his disillusion following the failure of the 1798 rebellion.
“To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.”
A poll by the British Medical Association (BMA) suggested that more than a third of doctors have faced abuse from patients or their family and friends during the pandemic.
The situation was worse for GPs where more than half of respondents said they had to deal with abuse in the past month.
Among the main findings from the doctors’ union were that:
Via Medscape News
“The world is changed not by the self-regarding,
but by men and women prepared to make fools of themselves.”
“Better keep yourself clear and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.“
George Bernard Shaw
From Nature’s daily email update, Nature Briefing. It is never less than an interesting read and reminds me why I took sciences at school in the first place. How the coronavirus infects cells — and why Delta is so dangerous. Scientists are unpicking the life cycle of SARS-CoV-2, the tricks it uses to evade detection and the quirks that make the Delta variant so dangerous. Researchers have discovered key adaptations that help the virus to grab on to human cells with surprising strength and then hide itself once inside. Later, as it leaves cells, SARS-CoV-2 executes a crucial processing step to prepare its particles for infecting even more human cells.
Here’s the LINK
From the always interesting and readable Tim Harford’s column, “The Undercover Economist”, in the FT on Saturday, “Five pandemic truths that defy institution”.
#3. Masks matter, but not for the reason you think. ….only our innate tribalism can turn mask-wearing from a simple, promising precaution into the dividing line between saintly and the damned. Cabinet ministers have boasted about removing their masks as soon as possible, which feels like boasting about farting in a lift: it might be a relief but it’s a strange thing to advertise. Once one realises that this is about signalling tribal loyalty, it makes more sense.
“It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”
Senator Robert F. Kennedy, University of Cape Town, 6th June 1966
Kennedy’s Day of Affirmation speech, better known as the “Ripple of Hope Speech”, it is a memorable and much analysed piece of rhetoric which is always worth remembering. Possibly his greatest speech.
Link to more about it HERE. & HERE & Listen HERE
I was inspired when I read Silent Spring by Rachel Carson in the mid-70s and have had involvement with groups including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and some at a more local level. I have tolerated comments like “Saving the whale Al?”, “Isn’t it time you gave up that hippy stuff?” and “How can you be a member of a profession that pollutes on such a large scale?”
The last time that I got (secretly) angry was when a friend, who I had previously respected, made an uncalled for comment about Greta Thunberg.
We all do what we can when we can. I’m sharing this because we all need to think and do more.
I was moved by an article in the FT Weekend Magazine about the terror attack in Utoya, Norway 10 years ago. In it some survivors who had been wounded reflect on what they have learned.
“Do not lose faith in yourself. You are good enough. Skilled enough. Strong enough. Dare to be vulnerable and sad when you need it, because what you have experienced is so incomprehensible and painful. Live in the moment and do not think about everything that did not become as you planned.”
Eiren Kristin Kjaer, now aged 29. Erin was shot in the stomach, arm, right knee and armpit.
The Incisal Edge 