A musical version of the expression, “back in the saddle again”, was introduced in 1938 by Ray Whitley in the film, Border G-Man, and became widely known in 1941 by “singing cowboy” Gene Autrey. The phrase has been around for decades and put to music by a wide variety of personalities including a more recent transformation by Aerosmith that applied a hard rock beat, contemporary lyrics and spin on the sentiment. In all cases, however, the meaning is similar and appropriate for our current circumstance.
Often used to indicate a previous failing or difficult situation, the effort of “back in the saddle again” is to not only try again, but improve on past performance. Following a period of high stress and dysfunction, reaction and fear, there is a tendency to breathe a sigh of relief, relax and enter a mild state of stupor. The domestic COVID-19 challenge is lessening; as restrictions ease and color-coded tier charts disappear, face-to-face interactions – without masks – will reappear in everyday life including government interactions.
Plans for live, in-person meetings and events are now in process. For many residents, barring a resurgence of a similar health or consequential threat, summer recess will be followed by schools, businesses and government operations assuming a relatively normal appearance. While this development is positive and beneficial, there are some lessons from the relative isolation and burgeoning virtual communication network that can be applied to a post-pandemic world.
Since the pandemic outbreak, all local council, other government and private group meetings have been held virtually. Residents who previously attended in person have learned to view them online, whether in real time or as previously recorded. While some will return to in-person attendance, others who, in the past, have been either otherwise occupied or uninterested, may have experienced the value of virtual attendance. Hopefully, this practice will continue and allow greater participation by residents, resulting in more feedback and critical review of council/board practices. With the advent of extended video coverage – almost any camera/phone is capable – additional on-line delayed broadcast of boards and commissions would also be beneficial, increasing outreach to the general public.
Feedback, including surveys and town hall outreach and other communications are welcome, providing valuable input to civic leaders. One of the best tools to increase their usefulness, helpful response and critical review is from those who have listened to a plethora of presentations, opinions and debate in order to form their own thoughts and ideas about present and future issues and challenges. For those most interested, on-line information and resources are available and used. But to strengthen and increase the cadre of involved residents, the more easily accessible informational tools available at the viewers convenience, the better the response, minimizing the influence of misinformation, partial-truths and fact manipulation.
As we all get back in the saddle again, it is to our mutual advantage to examine the impacts of isolation and extended virtual communication that were among the effects of an extended, community-wide event. COVID-19 may be viewed as a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, but its effects give clues to possible outcomes of other wide-spread catastrophes and how to provide clear and factual dissemination of services and information.