Bit of a downer
Today, I was pretty flat.
Could it be due to the lockdown? Well, maybe.
Could it be due to a messed up routine? Yeah, probably.
(I have no idea where this picture is from - I think I took it at a school art fair)
I've been going to bed around 4am, waking the kids up for their homeschooling, and finding my mood rising & falling like an ocean wave.
I knew I wasn't at my best.
Normally, when cruising social media pages, I'd laugh at all of the variations of opinion. I'm a Centrist. I can empathise with both sides of most arguments. To me, people are reasonably intelligent when it comes to their opinions. Yes, they may be biased, or based on flawed logic, but their opinions seem reasonable, to a point.
To a point.
That's normally when they lose me. When they cross their, more, "jusifiable" explanations, into areas that I cannot tacitly agree with.
I even put down in one comment section, "Very depressing". The antagonism of online muck throwing got to me.
But I am optimistic.
Agendas
The Jews are behind it, Bill Gates, Agenda 2030, Agenda 21, Central Banks, AI Skynet, Vaccines cause Autism, and so on - from far fetched or fact fetched. They all have their merits or dubious motivations.
But, I see it, from an optimistic point of view. Maybe, I'm just an eternal optimist?
I get it. I agree with parts of it. Of course I do - I am a Centrist.
But, our science & technological advancements have pushed us so far forward. It is a blessing.
Most of the world can communicate with each other. Modern farming techniques have provided an abundance. It makes us prone to gain weight, rather than, hunt for calories. Our health is far better. Awareness has led to demands for cleaner water, safer communities and so on.
This, of course, has moved us from ancient struggles, to more modern ones.
Ancients
If a plague devastated the land. It could wipe out entire populations. There was no science to identify that there was a bacteria, or some other virus, causing the problems. Information couldn't travel at the speed of light to notify the neighbouring regions. Food distribution halted, resulting in starvation and diseases, on top of, the original problem.
Do you blame witchcraft for strange tidings? Burn people at the stake to dispell the curse or drive away the Devil himself.
Do you sacrifice a newborn, or maybe, a virgin? Burn animals upon the altar? Or maybe just burn the house & all belongings.
Maybe a pultice would suffice? A wrapping of various herbs & witchcraftery.
It is from experience, that mankind, was able to put the jigsaw puzzle together. To work out, from many shared stories, a logical understanding of what was behind the death.
When, Thucydides, "noted that those who cared for the sick contracted the disease". But other locations it didn't.
IT was such pondering, comparisons, debates and observations, that led to more clues to solve the riddle of invisible pathogens.
This same learning from experience carries through to the present day.
The Modern Era
I often see people posting the meme, "If you want your life to be happier, turn off your TV".
We get information overload.
On the one hand, the world can seem a very scary place. So many bad things happening simultaneouly across the planet. The world can seem like hell on earth.
But, here you are, in your comfort, spending your precious time reading a post on the internet. You are not out hunting & gathering. Manning the walls of your village ensuring you are prepared for the next Hun pillage run.
We have it pretty good. Maybe, a bit too good. We stress ourselves out, creating cortisone in our bodies, that just increase our toxic body chemicals, along with the unhealthy snack we consumed.
Mask vs Un-Mask, Vaccine Yay or Nay.
I don't know the right answer. Going by reports of previous pandemics - it is better to avoid them.
I'm ok for giving social distancing a go. I'm ok not to. Well, I'd like to experiment to see if we can eradicate it. If we don't move, then the virus can't too, right? I'm up for the experiment.
Masks? Well, yes and no. I see many examples of where they are not being used properly. There are many people walking past my house with their mask hanging under their nose. They do it to avoid the fine.
Vaccines? Well, there have been problems with them. We live in a connected world now, though. So, how do we make it as safe as possible. I want the facts untainted with politics or $$$$ motivations. Let's be upfront about what we are trying to do.
If people don't want vaccines, then let them speak. I want to understand all the arguments. I am sure people have some valid reasons. If they are not valid, then let the weight of their argument evaporate through discourse. Vaccines are not 100% safe. So, right there, is a reason to discuss and respect people's perspectives.
Ah, yes, discourse.
written or spoken communication or debate.
Or, maybe, just experience, is enough. Taiwan, Korea & Japan, all who suffered from the SARS outbreak, years earlier, didn't wait and see when Covid struck. Taiwan, straight away, closed it's borders. Even threats and pressure, from China & the WHO, didn't stop their resolve. They had learned. Once bitten, twice shy.
"Taiwan is on high alert, and strict screening measures have been implemented in the wake of the 27 cases of atypical pneumonia believed to have been caused by an unidentified viral strain. The incident has triggered a public health scare, with some likening it to the lethal SARS epidemic of 2002-2003.
The fact that the Chinese authorities have yet to disclose the culprit behind the outbreak three days after the first case was recorded makes the event suspicious." source
Virus here, Virus there, Pandemic coming from somewhere
Mankind is a bit at a loggerhead with the Flu and associated type viruses.
We just can't beat it easily yet.
It morphs and adapts. That is a pretty clever nemesis.
The Covid-19, CCP Virus, Wuhan Virus, Corona virus... a rose by any other name..
But, the global focus on Influenza has been around for a very long time.
source and here
Australian Health Ministers have been heralding that a pandemic would be upon us very soon.
A FRAMEWORK FOR AN AUSTRALIAN INFLUENZA PANDEMIC PLAN was written in 1999.
It states;
"New pandemic viruses derive from aquatic birds, largely ducks, which act as the asymptomatic reservoir for a large number of influenza subtypes."
The report identifies previous pandemics and working out a way to not have the huge numbers of sick & dead. It is a noble cause to try an prepare the nation to fight against a pandemic. To have the structures in place. A sober look at previous pandemics, the death rates, the ages affected, its spread, treatments and so forth.
However, much of the report relies on the availability of a vaccine. Maybe, the lack of a vaccine on this occassion, especially, with the anticipated, 2nd wave, that previous pandemics had. The modelling factors in today's population, and bingo, you can see multipliers to the death tally. This would be why there is heightened concern.
Better today, than yesterday
I like it better today. It's ok, we are adapting to our new information world.
I was watching the Sopranos this week. It is a good show. In it though, you see how far technology has come. The daughter has a CRT monitor & really basic internet.
Today's standards are fantastic and my son has no idea what a CRT monitor is.
It is now humans who need to catch up. Now, that we all have information, it seems to be the playground of nefarious players, to inundate us with misinformation. Bombard us with overloads of information. Or, use our brains limitations, through psychological manipulations.
Much like, how the 80's, our entertainment was full of advanced subliminal advertising.
Now, we have our key strokes being monitored and our behaviours plotted.
Next will be facial recognition, social credit scores, cyborg enhancements, political covert/overt manouveres, modern warfare, cryptocurrencies to replace FIAT... we're in for technological leaps, and bounds, that we are not morally, or ethically, prepared for.
Tribes to Villages. Villages to Cities. Cities to States. States to Nations.
Nations to ... it seems inevitable. That, the more distances are shortened, interactions increase, that we move closer together. Like the ancients, commerce, communications & human movement, will dictate a new era.
The doomed World Order? Or, maybe, a World, that adjusts to the new paradigm that we are living within. International laws, shared currencies, technology, resources and a junction of variations, that need to be accommodated for, lest, we fall into conflict.
Covid has brought the world together again. It isn't a perfect melding of the nations. It has highlighted many deficiences and short-comings of our species. It has also shown that we can instigate mass change, around the world.
That exposure is an experience.
The ancients learned from experience.
Our ancestors found a way.
We will too.
