World 9.1 million Brazil 1.1 million Mexico 180K+
The pandemic shutdown has given many people the opportunity to learn new skills. With me sick at home for the past couple of weeks, I decided to learn more about playing bridge. There are a number of different bidding systems, and much to learn. There are classes held locally for beginners, but they’re not running at present because of social distancing. I might look into that when they resume. Yvonne, my mother in law, is a Grand Master, so I asked her for some basic instructions and started playing online.
I have the luxury of choosing to learn anything I wish to, or not, but for young people who are about to start their careers, the situation is bleak. The federal government last week announced it will cut the cost of some university degrees in those fields that they deem to be more important to economic recovery, but fees will increase for humanities degrees, once again the government is discriminating against the arts sector. They really don’t understand that people need to feel a sense of connection and meaning and that the arts are vital for the wellbeing of the human psyche. This decision is yet another example of ‘pocket thinking’. It will lead to more depression, more anxiety, more suicide and less productivity and cost the community and the government far more in the long run.