To dear Revelstoke:
Over the last 13 months, I have spent the majority of my days trying to support the fight against COVID-19, as is the case with many of you. Most of my communication has been in the professional context, but today I feel compelled to reach out on a personal level, as a resident for over 40 years.
I have parents, siblings, spouse and children, nephews, nieces, dear friends and mentors who live here.
What happens in Revelstoke matters to me. And I’m sure it matters to you too.
I am greatly dismayed at a call to action that explicitly states one of the objectives is to gauge the public support for businesses to participate in non-compliance of public health orders. I am certain that the intentions mirror my own – to see our community be rid of the hardships that have been impressed upon the world due to COVID-19. However, I would like to strongly state that I do not agree with this approach.
READ MORE: Revelstoke yoga class fined for defying COVID-19 orders
Can we agree on this? If we do not get our case numbers down in our city, province, and country, then:
a. We are headed for more restrictions and lockdowns.
b. More restrictions and lockdowns will result in more devastating financial loss and emotional hardship.
Very large problems do not have singular answers to fix everything. We are in the middle of a very large problem.
Remember that old riddle: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” We need to be pushing and pulling from every direction and angle if we are going to rise out of the ashes and bring ourselves out of this thing. Feel free to replace the word “elephant” with the ginormous animal or plant of your choice.
We are at a crossroads, Revelstoke. Can we band together, get through this, and emerge as an even stronger community? The contents of the cocoon are stirring. Will we emerge broken and tattered, or stronger than ever? If we could measure the concentration of brainpower in Revelstoke, it would ping off the charts.
This city is filled with geniuses, people at the top of their fields on a global scale, and people who care deeply. We are forward thinkers, problem solvers and innovators. We have all chosen this place as our home.
One could argue that for some, Revelstoke chose us.
I am asking you to channel your frustration and your passion into avenues targeted at lowering our positive case numbers of COVID-19 and helping our residents battle the prospect of insolvency. How can we work as a community to harness this energy? This is not a rhetorical question. This is the key.
The bubbling volcano is not unique to Revelstoke, but perhaps our unique community can handle this in a way that benefits all of us.
The virus is the enemy. Not each other.
Stacey Brensrud
READ MORE: All Revelstoke residents can now book a COVID-19 vaccine