Take A Deep Breath, Then Let It Go

Got me a little bejeweled choker Tie o’ the Day.

Even though many events have been cancelled or postponed recently, we find ourselves in a year of unusual and/or extraordinary events. Some, we saw coming—like a presidential election. Some caught us by surprise—like a pandemic. As human beings, we want to know the truth about whatever goes on around us, and we want to know it NOW. We should want that. And that’s when the hullabaloo begins.

My bigly point is this: The most difficult time for ANYBODY to find the “truth” about a humongous historical event is when we are smack-dab in it. Why? Because it’s still going on. It ain’t finished yet. So I advise that we keep an eye out for slicksters who offer up the “truth” about all of it—the truth only they can see. I submit that the opposite of faith might not be doubt, my friends. The opposite of faith might just be certainty. If a slickster claims to be absolutely certain about any aspect of the pandemic, they most likely don’t know the answers they are peddling. They might have access to a fact or two, but facts alone often do not get us to a comprehensive Truth, with a capital T.

If you know me, you know I am not a blind follower. But at some point, we have to trust the people in charge—whether we want to or not. They know more about some things than we do. And besides, they’re all we’ve got. Want me to wear a mask? If there is one scintilla of a chance my mask-wearing will keep even one person from getting COVID-19, it will be my pleasure to wear it. Because I still remember my 7th grade science, I was wearing a mask and gloves before it was suggested. Conspiracy? Will this go down in history as The Great Face Mask Conspiracy That Destroyed The U.S. Economy? I kinda don’t think so. Want me to stay home? We could call this plot The Great Conspiracy To Force Us To Spend Time With Our Families And Clean Up The House. As part of that conspiracy, we blindly gave up our right to ignore the people who live with us. And who wants to live in a world where we don’t have the right to neglect our families?

As for the conspiracy theory that the pandemic has been constructed for the purpose of certain people making a ton o’ money, I offer this bit of wisdom I’ve accrued during my 56 years. The rich do not need a pandemic in order to be rich. The rich will always get richer, no matter the prevailing world conditions. (There are barely any exceptions to that, but the rarity of exceptions proves the rule.) And those who were born into poverty, will likely live in it until they die in it—no matter what the economy is doing, and no matter how hard they work to better themselves. Statistically, this is how it is. It does not make me cynical to say so. It does make me heartbroken to say so.

Until a chunk of time has passed, and until we have ALL the numbers and various statistical analyses, and research, and documents, and records, personal accounts from doctors and nurses and survivors, etc. about an event, we’re just guessing about the particulars. COVID-19 will ebb. Historians and scientists will research and write from a more informed perspective as they look at the information accrued during the pandemic. But the pandemic is so bigly, it will take years of work and research before we get anything close to a comprehensive narrative of exactly what is happening to us right now. We have to wait for the research to be done, before the history gets written. We’ll have to be patient. We should probably listen to those in charge of our predicament. We must do our own investigation and thinking, and use our own common sense. We will eventually find out what hit us, and how.

Until then, let’s fight to regain our rights to pass along deadly diseases to one another in public places, and to keep our own family members out of our houses!