We are at war with COVID-19. So what can Sask. learn from the history of war?

Queen Elizabeth, in her recent address on the COVID-19 crisis, said that history will judge the way we conduct ourselves during these trying times. Will our behaviour and social solidarity match that of previous generations who faced similar challenges?

She pointedly referred to a speech she gave as a 13-year-old girl, rallying the children of the Commonwealth in the midst of wartime. The implication was clear. We are in a kind of a war right now.

So what can we learn from history? In my book on Saskatchewan in the First World War, I argued that 1914 to 1918 saw the unprecedented mobilization of the province's people to achieve victory over the enemy. Now, we find many aspects of our lives turned upside down by the war against the virus.

At the same time, we have to recognize some of the differences in order to avoid the trap of simplistic moralizing.

Our sacrifices are comparatively easy

First, there is the psychology of sacrifice. Saskatchewan lost 6,700 people in the First World War at a time when the population of the province was about half a million. Many were felled in the trenches in the most gruesome conditions imaginable.

Our sacrifices now, while no picnic, are comparatively light.

At first the sacrifice of military service in the First World War was voluntary, but since voluntarism did not produce enough recruits, Canada moved inexorably to compulsory military service in 1917. Healthy, vigorous young men with their whole lives to look forward to were suddenly ordered by the government to drop everything and head to the European slaughterhouse.

In comparison to that, washing your hands several times a day does not seem that bad.

But notice the underlying dynamic. What begins as voluntary ends up as compulsory. We can see that process at work now, albeit on a smaller scale. At first admonitions from the government were merely advisory foreign travel not a good idea, self-isolate as best you can now the full force of the law is being brought to bear on these behaviours.

No war-time economy boost

What about the economy? Here our forebears had a better deal.

The First World War caused a veritable boom in Saskatchewan. Acreage seeded in wheat doubled from 1914 to 1919. The price of wheat tripled to $2.21 a bushel by 1917, causing the federal government to put a cap on.

Labour was in demand and wages increased, even for menial work. Indeed, this was partly what made conscription (compulsory military service) necessary to keep the army up to full strength. Some people preferred to stay home and make money rather than get killed.

We are in a worse situation. The government has instructed many of us not to work and not to get paid by our employers. The result has been catastrophic.

Many people are worried about paying their rent or meeting their mortgage payments or buying groceries. Yes, the government is helping out with relief payments and bailout promises, but where's the money?

Meanwhile, the country is amassing debt on the level of the Second World War. The economy is supposed to rocket back after the health crisis is solved, but we will see.

Erosion of freedoms

Finally, there is the issue of our freedoms and rights as citizens. War has a way of eroding them.

In the First World War, there were terrible abuses, including taking away the right to vote from certain groups of people and shutting down newspapers.

Today, we are far from that, but there are some troubling signs.

Parliament is not functioning as it did before the crisis hit. We need opposition parties, we need debate, we need question period. That makes us stronger, not weaker.

Not all bad news

With all that being said, the Queen's essential point stands. We are being tested in wartime-like circumstances. We either rise to the occasion or we don't.

Her parting words were, "We'll meet again." I took that as not just a reference to the Vera Lynn song, but also a suggestion that the judgment of this world is not the only judgment we have to think about.

To end on a more optimistic note, let us remember what our fellow citizens on the home front endured in the First World War. Among other things they enacted prohibition, giving up booze to preserve the grain supply and increase industrial efficiency. Premier Moe has kept the liquor stores open, sparing us that deprivation.

This column is part of CBC'sOpinionsection. For more information about this section, please read thiseditor's blogand ourFAQ.

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