On Navigating the Pandemic as a Parent

By Irena Ioannou — GAZE

I’ve always admired people who are vocal about the current state of affairs, who march at demonstrations and scream at the top of their lungs about animal rights, education reform, or the financial crisis. Even if at times I do not fully agree with their point of view, the passion with which they express their opinions impress me because in my mind having a strong opinion is a lot better than having no opinion at all, or even worse, not caring about anything beyond your microcosm.

At times I have felt guilty for not taking an active part in public demonstrations — technically there is always time when you look hard enough for it — and for getting bogged down by my everyday responsibilities while letting campaigns and grand ideas of change pass me by. I have also often felt guilty that in a way I’m relying on others to save the world, too timid or indecisive to make my views public.

A deeper problem for me lies in the fact that the more I read about a subject, the more I feel like I can root for either side or understand the dynamics played out in the background. A sad aspect of public participation in our democracy at this moment is that expressing any opinion publicly is often followed with intense scrutiny and an instant labeling of your political affiliation.