Earlier this year, in the month of March, I began to hear of a terrible virus. It goes by many names. It's called COVID-19, the coronavirus, the Wuhan virus, the China virus, and there are probably others out there that I have never heard. When I first heard about it, I just thought that it was another thing that I had to watch out for to stay healthy. I gave it the same weight as the flu, or pneumonia, or bronchitis, or any number of other illnesses that attack my respiratory system. I have had problems throughout my life with those kinds of diseases but always recovered fully, although as I get older, it takes me longer.
This disease is different, I am told. This one is killing thousands of people. This one is particularly deadly to those over 60, and those who have serious health problems already. At 69, and with diabetes and atrial fibrillation, I fall into both of those categories. I learned a new word through all of this: comorbidity. Oxford Languages defines it as "the simultaneous presence of two chronic diseases or conditions in a patient." If I also contracted COVID-19, I would actually have three.
I have never dwelt on my health issues. I treat my diabetes several times daily and monitor my heart rate for anything out of the ordinary, but I don't live in fear of these sicknesses. I even believe that if I did catch this new virus, I would survive it, but if you don't mind, I'd just as soon skip that experience if at all possible.
I wear a mask out in public, and I stay a healthy distance away from people I come in contact with. Since I'm retired, we basically stay home anyway unless we have to venture out to gather food. I've participated in my church's online service as the leader of the Worship Team, learning all about how to record hymns for the church to enjoy during their services, as well as doing live broadcasts from my home. I hear from one group of people that I am being a good boy and following all the guidelines, while another group tells me that I am living in fear and should be out there trying to reclaim my constitutional rights.
One keyword in this is "guidelines." The things that we are being asked to do are suggestions based on our leadership's interpretations of the arbitrary group of experts to whom they have chosen to listen. They aren't laws, but somehow, we get threatened with fines and jail time if we choose not to follow them. How does that work? When the government tells us that they "strongly suggest" something, but we say, "Thanks for the information, but I'm not going to do that." then where does the law come into it? I think some leaders look at COVID-19 as a very "useful virus."
I'm not all that much of a rebel. I listen to what everyone is saying, and try to be a good citizen, but I fully understand the concerns of those who worry about our rights being trampled. I think I can fit into both of those categories, being obedient while protesting government overreach. It breaks my heart to see companies that were flourishing before this, but are now being run out of business through no fault of their own.
I can state categorically that I have no fear. I came to terms with my own mortality at a very early age, and if the grim reaper finds me today, I'd like to think I would go with quiet dignity, praising God for the life He graciously gave me.
What I fear is the total chaos that is present in today's world. We are given horrific numbers of people who have died from this virus, and then later are told that the records are being skewed to generate more federal dollars for the hospitals. One state went from 1600 deaths down to 850 overnight because of misreporting that was being corrected. It almost sounded like 750 people were resurrected from the dead overnight.
We are told that masks will protect us, but there are an equal number of articles out there saying that they don't do anything for us. Chloroquine will shut the virus down, but oh, wait, it can kill some people instead. We will supposedly have a vaccine anywhere from this September to five or six years from now, if ever. We now have "a new normal."
There are people out there using this virus for their own personal gain, and they should be ashamed of themselves. Scammers call our homes to tell us that they have our COVID-19 relief funds ready to send us if we would just verify our social security number and bank account. Politicians are passing bills that send inadequate amounts of money to the people being hurt by this virus while forwarding millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood, illegal aliens, voting corruption schemes, and pork projects to help themselves get re-elected.
...And then there's, "We are all in this together." I'm sorry, but how am I in the same boat as a politician who has not lost one cent of his pay, and according to some reports, even voted himself a raise? Some people lost their jobs but actually received more money from unemployment than they would if they kept working. The people considered essential (an extremely arbitrary determination in many cases) got nothing extra for their diligence and willingness to risk their health to help serve the public. To imply that somehow, we are all equally affected by this virus and the subsequent rules and regulations is ludicrous.
How about those essential workers? While I can see police, firemen, doctors, and nurses being vitally essential, how is a liquor store in any way, shape, or form essential? I could send a female to have an abortion, but don't let them catch her entering a church!
The insanity needs to stop. It is time to let people be the people and make their own decisions about what they will and won't do. We definitely need to be out there petitioning our leaders on every level to open up our cities and states so our nation can heal.
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