I know that inserting something new into an already busy schedule seems onerous and, quite frankly, unlikely.
I know that having to think about the coronacrisis for one extra minute can be draining.
And I know that you, dear reader, are someone who can make a difference.
Let’s address these issues…
1. Where can you shave 10 minutes off your leisure time today?
Maybe watch 10 minutes less of Netflix or take 10 minutes away from social media.
(These will be there when you’re done.)
2. How will you feel when you’ve actually done something in alignment with your values and principles?
I’m going to say, at least a little energized.
(It’s only draining when we’re fretting about our inability to do something and not exercising our agency.)
3. I know you’re a person who can make a difference because you’re reading this.
And I’m here to support you…
If you’ve got the 10 minutes now, let’s get started.
If not, come back later today.
I’ll wait.
⏸ (entr’acte)
Okay.
Grab a pen and paper and a timer.
A journal is also good (though not as easy to burn after reading, should you wish to do that).
Find a comfortable seat with privacy, close your eyes, and focus on the coronacrisis.
Don’t resist or indulge your emotions, just notice them.
Breathe calmly and easily.
How have these mandates impacted your life?
What would you like your political representatives to know?
What would you like to ask them?
What would you like them to do?
Open your eyes, set your timer for 10 minutes, and write like no one is reading.
Don’t try to get it right, don’t be politically correct, don’t hide your emotions.
When you’re done, put down the pen, take a deep breath, and put this away.
Tomorrow, take another 10 minutes to read over what you wrote.
(It’s important to put some distance between you and your raw writing.)
Taking away the emotions (without losing the heart), list your salient points.
Ask the same questions:
How have these mandates impacted your life?
What would you like your political representatives to know?
What would you like to ask them?
What would you like them to do?
If you’re able to do it now, write this up in a formal draft document.
Otherwise, use tomorrow’s 10 minutes to do so.
(See where this is going?)
Take another 10 minutes (now, tomorrow, or the day after), and look up the email addresses of your mayor, MPP, MP, Premier, governor, or whoever you think needs to hear your voice.
You might also want to bcc certain supportive friends and family so that they can be inspired by and even use your email as a template.
The next day, paste your letter and the addresses into an email and read it over.
Several times.
Have you conveyed the impact on you?
Have you shared what’s most important to you?
Have you made an actionable request?
When you’ve answered yes to these questions, hit send.
Voilà.
You, dear reader, are in the game.
How do you feel?
Empowered, I bet.
I know, because I did this.
(Full disclosure: I took more than 10 minutes at a time, but I did follow all the steps.)
I wrote the following email to my Premier and MPP...
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To Premier Doug Ford,
Ontarians’ choice to get any medical treatment should be an absolute right, guaranteed under the Canadian Bill of Rights and the Canadian Charter of Rights. To mandate or coerce the usage of an experimental medical treatment, still in the trial stages until 2023 (see links directly below), is also a breach of the Nuremberg Code and an inhumane and unscientific act.
* AstraZeneca https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04516746
Policies to force citizens into these treatments are inhumane because the vast majority of people are unaware of the fact that this is an experiment and have little to no knowledge of the possible adverse effects, and therefore have no ability to give informed consent. It is unscientific because the push towards 100% vaccination eliminates the control group — a necessary component of any legitimate scientific study. It is also untenable because it can be detrimental to those with compromised immune systems or even naturally existing immunity.
On a personal note, these mandates have prevented both my husband and I from working in our industry. I’ve had COVID-19. I have robust natural immunity. Because of your policies, more and more television and film production companies are requiring vaccinations for actors to even audition. We have been pushed out of an industry that we have served for decades.
With these mandates, you are forcing thousands and thousands of Ontarians into financial distress and ruin and away from being a healthy part of the economy. You are forcing many to abandon their principles, their rights, and their freedoms, in a futile attempt to wipe out a disease that overwhelmingly affects the elderly and those with co-morbidities, and has a greater than 99% survival rate — even without early treatment.
Even the Ontario Science Table has said, “There is currently no scientific evidence of the direct impact of COVID-19 vaccine certificates on SARS-CoV-2 transmission or population vaccination rates, and there are important ethical, legal, accessibility, and privacy considerations concerning their development and implementation.”
Instead of sacrificing the livelihoods and happiness of the vast majority of people for whom COVID-19 poses no threat of death, why not create focused protection for the elderly and strengthen the health of citizens and the economy with inexpensive programs and attention on health and building natural immunity? This would not only create a thriving and healthy population, but it would drastically reduce healthcare costs, the great majority of which (~80%) are spend on preventable lifestyle diseases.
Programs to encourage eating fresh local foods, participation in outdoor activities at Ontario’s many parks, lakes, nature trails, and even ski resorts, and education around proper sleep hygiene and stress reduction would be a hugely cost-effective way to drive down provincial expenses and COVID-19 deaths.
In addition, there is the now well-documented list of early treatment protocols that cost a fraction of that of the vaccine. The countries and states around the world that have used Ivermectin, hydroxychlorquine, and vitamin D, both as early treatment and prevention have vastly better results than those using vaccines. 85% of hospitalizations and deaths are being decreased.
In addition, your policies are hurting those who have already contracted COVID-19 and have excellent immunity. Natural immunity is a well-established fact in the scientific community. Currently, it is proving vastly more effective than these rushed vaccines. As shown in the following study out of Israel, those without natural immunity to COVID-19 had a 13-fold increased risk of infection.
Here are an additional 80+ studies:
There are even studies showing a negative impact of the vaccines to already naturally immune people.
Example after example is now coming out that the vaccines do not stop the spread of COVID-19.
This is not to mention the hundreds of thousands of adverse events and deaths being reported by these experimental injections, which have led to cessation of usage in Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Japan, and South Africa.
There is a better way. Ontario can take the lead and be the next Florida, where everything is open and cases have plummeted. We can do what we should have done in the beginning and follow the original WHO Pandemic Guidelines like Sweden did, where life is normal and flourishing. Vaccine mandates are an abomination to democracy, and are not even necessary.
Please feel free to contact me for any further information.
In health and with sincerity,
T. Michelle (née Leduc) Catlin
Toronto
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I do recommend a much shorter letter, but, hey, I’ve had a lot on my mind.
I also thought you might want to use part of it as a template.
Just be sure to replace my personal impact paragraph with your own.
If we each take 10 minutes every day to forward our agency, we can change the direction of unscientific, undemocratic, and unworkable policies.
Just this week, I read a reliable source sharing that the government of Canada is basing its mandates on public opinion — not science.
Could that be why Quebec and Ontario have backed down on mandatory vaccination for teachers and healthcare workers respectively?
Your opinion has never mattered more.
Are you with me?
Bcc me with your letter!
I’d love to read it.
In the meantime, get more insights and freedom around writing with this week’s How To Be Free podcast guest, Canadian star producer/showrunner/writer/mentor, Al Magee.
Whether you decide to take on a novel or just get through your LinkedIn profile without breaking out in a sweat, you won’t want to miss this one!
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