There’s a better way to mark the pandemic than praising ‘heroes’ and ‘sacrifice’

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy In his message of support for the National Day of Reflection last year, Boris Johnson offered ‘sincere condolences’ to the bereaved, but his message quickly pivoted toward a celebration of ‘the great spirit shown by our nation’. Last November, a new memorial was unveiled in Barnsley that explicitly merged ‘paying tribute to those who have lost their lives’ with marking the ‘contribution of key workers, volunteers and local communities during the pandemic’. To keep up to speed with all the latest opinions and comment sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter by clicking here In Britain, one of the most striking acts of public response to the pandemic was the Thursday ‘Clap for Carers’, a ritual that embodied this desire to collectively praise heroes. Fran Hall from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice said, due to the “huge amount of anger focused directly at the state,” it would be jarringly inappropriate for “the government to then bestow a memorial of some kind.” Dr Joseph Freer is especially scathing of politicians emphasising sacrifice: “it is not likely that sacrifice is how nurses themselves would have seen their own deaths – it is more probable that they felt unsafe and afraid.” The National Day of Reflection is a broad and inclusive event.