RTE Roundtable Talk #6: Effective Citizenship During the Pandemic

Featuring Sonya Anderson and First Lieutenant Mark Bashaw

When problems arise, you find out who the competent people are in your community. These are the people you want to promote with responsibility, and to share perspectives with to the benefit of everyone. Our two guests today are not the academics or the physicians, but those who stepped forward to take other important roles.

Anyone can offer their capabilities to solve problems. It's a choice.

RTE readers have read about 1LT Mark Bashaw here and here. He took a stand against what he believed to be unlawful orders. As a result, he became the "first COVID court martial" earlier this year. He is one of my many heroes whom I've met during the pandemic who has risked his own career to do what he considers the right thing to do. I was a bit surprised to hear that he never read Heinlein's Starship Troopers, as I would have thought it would be required reading for an entomologist in the military.

I had not previously met Sonya, but listening to her talk quickly made me realize how she exemplifies community leadership and mentoring. She works with the Canadian COVID Care Alliance (CCCA) along with Byram Bridle, Jessica Rose, and others. I have to say that everyone I've met from the CCCA has impressed me, and Sonya exudes competence in her role at helping the community understand how to interface with and engage with their government. Many people wondering how they can step forward to voice their opinion with government officials should hear her words. We talk with her most during the last half hour of the conversation.

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