Honestly, I hated Junior High. I would not relive those two years of my life if you plopped a suitcase full of filthy, gold lucre down on my kitchen table. Junior High, for me, can be summarized in the following concepts: rule by the Popular; denigration of the Un-popular; and ongoing, painful Hysteria (Ie. every issue and situation is bigger than life) where the adults didn't seem to know how to help the kids through it by dialing-it-down and bringing in common sense. Maybe that is why I LOVED teaching Junior High kids as an adult. Somehow God took the hell I lived through and made my heart soft with compassion and my mind pretty keen with how to mitigate the angst of the kids before me. If I didn't need to pay a mortgage, and didn't dislike (most) institutionally employed adults so much, I'd volunteer to teach Junior High for free. But from this passion to set things on a gentler course, I offer my 2 cents on the current topics related to pandemic. Let me begin with:
Extreme positions can only be held by those unwilling to step into their neighbor's proverbial moccasins for a moment. This concept is true not just for the Right, but also for the Left. As much as I know it is American democracy for each side to speak their piece in a debate, I abhor with a Capital ABHOR the shout-down theatrics that it has become. That holds true for ALL of those jokers from Whoopi at the far-left to Sean at the far-right. I once heard a brilliant neurologist bring a room full of noisy people down to a giant hush by dropping her voice below the level of what most dogs can hear. It was amazing... because when you are bright and you are right, you already have the might. (can we put that on a tee-shirt?)
Recently, a dear friend sent me an email and stated that Americans are self-centered when they put personal freedom and choice before the well being of others. Most of the people to the Right would have begun yelling at that point. I thought it better to consider her spot - she is a senior citizen and the whole covid journey has made her nervous. Last year, when I spoke to her on the phone, I teasingly reminded her that she can call me any time ... because you can't catch COVID over the telephone.
I don't think the Media has done us any justice or service by the way they have managed the information and dis-information of the past two years. Because, remember: Media exists to sell media. No news means no jobs for them. So for them, No News is NOT good news. It is morally reprehensible how they stir the pot just to keep us on the edge of our seats. But, our-bad, we should just shut the television off. I advise everyone: Take a media break at least once every 3 days. You will find a few things to be true: They are not hailing any real scientific progress overnight. They flip-flop who is the good guy and who is the bad guy to serve the interest of ... hooking a broader cross-section of viewers/readers, and ... therefore, selling more news. The integrity of the Journalistic profession has come under serious compromise as a result of this trend. They have become very good at winding a story full of intrigue and emotion, but it is a side-note to whether or not you can count it as 100% true.
So back to my friend's angst about those who refuse the vaccine. I want to remind everyone of these things (which should be neither Left, nor Right, but common logic):
> the vaccine is not a silver-bullet. It does not work 100% of the time, due to developing variants. There will be variants because that is what viruses do: they try to survive by changing.
>being asked to wear a mask isn't the worst thing in the world... especially until we figure this thing out. I might actually be okay with wearing a mask in enclosed, public places if you agree not to 'card' me for my vax status and invade my HIPPA rights. And, yes, I am fine with taking a pop quiz on my symptoms weekly to get into church or work or wherever.
>the vaccines are NOT yet approved by the FDA ... they gave it a wary "okay to use due to pandemic conditions" which means, in plain English: "We are not sure if this will do the trick," ... NOR (and I think this is super-important and very under-played) are they sure about any Long Term Effects .... (ie. blood clots that some of them have already caused in SOME people. I take an 81 mg aspirin every other night just to feel better about that risk). Note the legal disclaimer on the Pharma websites. Hmm...
>I emphasized the word "some" because the human bodies that receive these shots are themselves a varying habitat. Which is where a Smarter or Wiser Governor or President would ADMIT and offer exemptions for specific outliers.
Analogy #1. I had a friend over for dinner this winter. I pan-seared a very nice steak in olive oil because everyone in the Nutritional world like the FDA and even Weight Watchers says how fantastic olive oil is - like a nectar of gods, if you will, that helps your body. So here I applied a scientific presumption to a specific situation ... and was unaware of my friend's allergy until he ran flying out my front door to rid himself of what would have landed him in an Emergency Room. Horrifying.
And yet, every time the Media badgers the hell out of the common population saying "Everyone" MUST get a vaccine, and demonizes those who don't, they forget the principal that, "Not all medicines are appropriate for all patients." To wit, I find it very ironic that the same cache of folks who deny a person the right to decide with the advisement of their physician what to put or not put into their body, absolutely insist that whether a woman carries a pregnancy full term has anything to do with the wider community - it's just between "her and her doctor" and "her body, her choice." Hmm... so I only get rights over my body when it's okay with you? Not consistent logic.
>And speaking of a person's body ... if you have already had the illness, science says that you have antibodies that will prevent you from re-infection or at least SEVERE illness, should it recur. And they say in the next breath that while, admittedly, the vaccine is not 100% effective, it will help LESSEN symptoms, if you do get sick. So, do the math with me, logically speaking: either the anti-bodies or the vaccine can help prevent severe illness .... um, except of course, if you have underlying co-morbid conditions that make any illness you get a potential for a train-wreck. Again, I bring you, dear reader, to the point that no 2 bodies are guaranteed to react the same way to the same illness ... or the same vaccine. So if you have already BEEN sick, it should not be pressed upon you to put vaccine in you for more "just in case" potential. Talk to your doctor ...
>It is because of the circuitous logic of "antibodies not being as good as vaccine" business, that I am leery about The Booster. Are we "boostering" more poisons into our systems needlessly, when we just are NOT sure about anything 100%? I will tell you who is doing REALLY, REALLY well with all this vaccine business: Big Pharma.
>Go easier on your Conspiracy Theorist neighbors. I know I have had my fill of feeling the cloud of doom hanging over me due to mistrust of those in charge, and so the CT's annoy me because they ramp angst up to the next level. If the powers-that-be hadn't handled this so badly maybe I'd have more confidence in them on the governmental level. Maybe. Has this become a matter of leaders not trusting US to act with the best interest "of the herd" in mind - or us not trusting them to act with the best interest of anyone BUT the news Media, Big Pharma, and the Political machine in mind? Just sayin' it goes both ways.
>Re-education of the masses is to be held with a certain amount of suspicion. I heard of a workplace recently that, in an attempt to preserve the quantity of workforce, offered to have a medical professional sit down with you and discuss the vaccine. That means, "we want to pressure you to think like us, to take the recommended action, and we are going to hard-sell you face-to-face if you give us the chance." Really? This sounds like just another episode of, "Welcome to my parlor, said the Spider to the Fly." Look if you are out there and have questions - you can talk to your doctor, your pharmacist, someone at your clinic and ask some questions. But I am guessing if, at this point, you are holding back, you already know what your own reservations are based on: allergies, immune compromise, etc. But I also think if you are out there and don't have any questions and just take the shot, you are a sheep. EVERYONE should always have questions before they alter their body chemistry with anything. That's just good stewardship. But if you have come this far, listening to Uncle Joe and Aunt Nancy and the Pope and everybody saying what they think is right for you, I'd say to get on the Big Pharma websites and do some of your own research. Then look at who is being "silenced" from the Media and why. You will see why this is a bigger, more complicated issue than: "Just get the shot, it saves lives."
>Don't forget to be human. There are friends, family members, neighbors who are all going to be coming from different positions for different reasons on this thing. Do not buy into the technique of badgering them because you believe a certain way. If your vaccine protects YOU, and your mask protects YOU, then you don't need to worry about THEM. You may perceive their choice as "rolling the dice," but they may have their own personal reasons why they can't do it. Leave them be in peace. "Judge not, lest ye be judged," turns out to be sage advice.
This is a tough issue and it really requires all of us being more considerate and more patient with other people. Do not let the "US" in "USA" be divided into US vs. Them (anyone who disagrees). Do not become Junior Politicians and demonize anyone who disagrees with you. Let us be friendly, and walk through this according to the dictates of our own conscience. When you listen to another person, hear the heart of that person ~ have we pushed each other into such defensive corners that we cannot say to the other person, "I know you are concerned, and I appreciate that. We need to agree to disagree on this."? Come out from your own corner, I will come out from mine and let us respect both the person and the process by which we make our decisions. Do you love me less because I do not think as you do? I hope not, because I think that is what makes me so charming ...
############
No comments:
Post a Comment