One of the largest movements in history has taken place over the past year. Hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of medical experts from every country working together to track a new strain of coronavirus as it mutates and spreads. Understanding the origins and evolution of viruses helps us to better understand our oldest enemy.
Over countless ages in the past, viruses have left their junk in our DNA, spurring on mutations in plants and animals, recorded forever in DNA for us to observe later.
Cannabis very clearly shows in its DNA that at some point in the past a virus was transferred from an animal, and the ability to produce Cannabinoids was transferred through the virus from animal to plant.
Hundreds of years ago, Tulips were exported from Istanbul to Europe, and in the Netherlands a tulip plant became infected with a virus that caused the flower to have two colors instead of one.
This viral mutation in the tulip started the tulip bulb craze that economists everywhere learn about in textbooks.
Scientific curiosity and discovery are great things, but they often come with a price. The networks, tools, government programs, funding, power and opportunity that this pandemic has created would go poof if the pandemic were officially ended.
I'm only being realistic here. The pandemic has given power and opportunity to entities that will be very unwilling to let go of it. If the end goal is to eradicate covid19, will that also mean these entities and new power structures end as well?
Whether covid19 is eradicated or not is irrelevant. Like the war on terror, there is no end goal. The war on viruses has been declared, and the systems being built right now to fight that war are not going away.
While the title of this post may seem negative, it's actually not. Consider what Reagan once said about the world uniting together against an alien threat. Is the uniting of nations to fight viruses instead of each other not a noble cause?
I've heard all the propaganda, all the conspiracy theories, and all the paranoid delusions floating around on the internet. I'm also aware of the economic destruction that has taken place in this new global war on viruses. But consider that governments aren't there to coddle and care for you. At some point, people became too dependent on systems and took them for granted. Nobody appreciates the sheer amount of labor and networking involved to get food to our plate, and clothing on our backs.
People will always take the path of least resistance, just like water. In 2020, all easy paths in our day-to-day life were blocked off. Our auto-pilot malfunctioned, and we suddenly had to think about the future and our survival. Likely a billion people around the globe lost their employment, but in the long run they'll survive an be smarter about their survival. Instead of racking up credit card debt and mortgaging up their home, they'll maybe build a pantry with canned and dry foods, and maybe they'll learn to live within their means instead of spiraling down the toilet bowl of debt. It's a lesson you only need to learn once, because if you repeat the mistake over and over then it's now on you and no one else.
In the long run, this pandemic will teach people to care for themselves better, and for each other, instead of depending on the government for survival. "Never again" will be the slogan of the new generation, and heads of large corporations will roll. Probably not today or tomorrow, but in the coming years as the masses regain their foothold and independence from government.
This pandemic will not end, even if Covid19 does. A new global faction has obtained power, and they're not about to give that power back. The war against viruses is like nothing we've ever seen before. It's not fought with guns and cannons and bombs. The strongest and best soldiers in this war are the doctors and ambulance drivers and scientists.
Make no mistake, this virus is being dealt with like any invading force. Most of the people haven't clued into this yet, or are confused. Some cry out that it's a hoax or a conspiracy, while others are certain that it's a power grab. In truth, it's all of those things, but with context things can seem more clear.
Thanks for dropping by. Stay safe and respect other people.