Talking to people in the UK, I have been struck by how demoralised some of them are; which first manifested as a defence of the government, and then a fatalism, a refusal to discuss politics at all. A survival strategy, and this government knows it, is counting on it. https://twitter.com/Okwonga/status/1348925743401730048

The government's use of World War 2 rhetoric is ridiculous *and* extremely effective, because it makes countless citizens believe that they are worthy of sacrifice before the advancing enemy virus. It seems basic but it resonates in many people at a very deep cultural level.

The UK government, both by accident and by design, is shrinking the terrain that can be comfortably occupied by its citizens; it's like eroding the ice cap beneath the feet of scrambling polar bears. Some citizens will claim the solid ground, many are just trying not to drown.