2020 has been a strange year. In many ways, the pandemic has brought us closer together. At the beginning, we stood united. And since the nation was forced into giving home working a try, many of us have been invited into the homes of colleagues, gaining a unique and privileged insight into the personal lives hiding within our professional networks.
But in other ways the crisis has divided the nation. The three different tiers are a rather crass example of that, but there is other ‘othering’ at play, too. While most agree the health of the nation is the prerogative, there are split opinions in terms of what aspect of health to prioritise – physical versus mental, versus economic. These facets of health are clearly all linked which is why there are many differing ideas about what the UK should do next. Perhaps this division in opinion is why there are as many rule breakers as there are law-abiding citizens, or so the media would have us believe.
