Stop The Testing. Stop The Mandates. Stop The Masking. And Joy To The World.

Ignore the pandemic doomsayers.

A very merry Christmas
And a happy new year,
Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear

Happy Christmas (War is Over)

The wind blows wherever it pleases.

John 3:8

I dribbled this essay into my keyboard late on Christmas Eve after my kids had gone to bed in keen anticipation of what the morning would bring, scant hours before what is ordinarily the most celebrated day of the year for many millions of people — a day that symbolizes joy, hope and the generosity of the human spirit.

Sadly, just as it was last year, that spirit is shrouded in pandemic darkness.

Like many other Canadians — and like many people around the world — I’ve had enough.

I’ve had enough of the out-of-control handwringing; enough of the over-the-top catastrophizing.

Because this is not last year. Much has changed, and in ways that should allow us to enjoy this season to the fullest.

Instead, in the face of omicron’s invasion, we’re quaking in fear.

In a matter of weeks the uber-contagious variant, first reported on November 24 in the Gauteng Province of South…