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The Problem: Fear
How many of you have looked at someone and asked yourself “Why?” Why are they not following the rules? Why are they not listening to the experts? Why do they not care about their/other’s health? Everyone wants this to end, everyone wants to get back to normal. We have been told over and over that if we just do these few things, we will get past this. Those who fail to obey are prolonging this for everyone.
The media has created fear over covid. They spent months fanning the fear into full-blown hysteria. They then took that fear and basically said “If you wear your mask and stay home and social distance, covid (and the fear) will go away.” Then it became, “If you wear your mask and stay home and social distance and get vaccinated, covid (and the fear) will go away.” Now they are adding “and get your booster”. The fear is the driving force. Without the fear, there is no incentive to listen to them or do what they say.
Over and over again we have been warned against “disinformation”. But who is really right? Who is telling the truth and who is spreading true disinformation? The best way to gauge if a media outlet has been telling the truth is to look at what they said several months ago. Were they right? There have been two sides to this all along. One side has said “After the vaccine, they will require a booster, and will require the vaccine to work, and will require a vaccine passport to do many basic things.” The other side has said “MISINFORMATION! We never said there would be boosters, or require vaccines, or vaccine passports, that is misinformation.” Until it happens. Those who scream “misinformation” are often those who are lying to you. You can look back at their track record for yourself. Have they ever apologized for being wrong? Have they even admitted being wrong?
Examine the Fear:
Let’s take a closer look at that fear. There is nothing worse than the nameless dread, so let’s name it, and see if it is justified. For one, there is a general fear of catching covid. After all, we saw death stats for months in the beginning. But they were cumulative stats. Since this began, here is now many have died. They never went down, because they were all deaths from the beginning added together. What about monthly or weekly stats? Those quickly fell, but they are not useful for stoking the fires of fear. Eventually we saw only case numbers. Again, cumulative. X number of people have had covid. Stay home so you don’t catch it. It is so very scary. Fear, Fear, Fear.
I have a question for you: Are you afraid of catching the Flu? I ask this because covid has better survival rates than the flu, unless you meet a very small criteria. If we renamed this the covid flu, would you be as afraid?
But people are dying! You may throw back at me. Yes, they are. But have we examined why? And who? And from what? There is a lot of data that is being hidden right now. It is like the experts don’t want us to know certain facts. Why would that be?
The Solution: Question Everything
There is an idea, taught in many colleges and public schools, that it is not acceptable to question the experts. They must be believed at all costs. But why? It would be disrespectful and rude to question them. Is it rude and disrespectful to try to understand? Most of the time, we ask questions so we can understand why this and not that. Not because we are trying to prove others wrong, but because we are sincerely confused and want to understand. Right now, we are not allowed to ask even clarifying questions.
If you try to ask the experts “I have heard this, and it seems to make sense, but you are saying this other thing and I am now confused. Can you help me understand why this is wrong?” The answer you are most likely to get is something along the lines of “I can’t believe you are stupid enough to listen to those people. They are not experts like we are. Shut up and do as we tell you.” I have a real problem with answers like that. Especially when I am honestly wanting to understand.
Experts who will not explain to you why this is wrong, and the other thing is right, worry me for two reasons: 1) They seem to feel like they are better than I am, smarter, more accomplished, and I am simply not capable of understanding even the basics of what is going on. 2) If they can’t tell me why the other side is wrong, it makes me wonder just what data they are using to justify their position. If they can show with their data the problem with the other side’s position, why don’t they? And if they continue to refuse to do so, is the other side really wrong?
At one time, the experts KNEW the Earth was flat. They believed in spontaneous generation. Smoking was good for you, as was DDT. The experts do not know everything. Sometimes they are wrong. A really good scientist will acknowledge when he/she is wrong, and correct their understanding and theories. Finding a mistake will only make things better.
I am here to tell you that it is ok to question the experts. We learn by questioning. My children have all asked me the craziest questions, and some really good ones. They do so because they honestly want to know why. Do I feel threatened by their asking? No. Why not? Because I am secure in my understanding. A 4-year-old asking why the sun sleeps at night is not going to make me question the Earth revolving around the Sun. I am also not going to get the child in trouble because they do not yet understand the basics of the solar system.
So why do some of the experts seem threatened by questions? Why do they seem to bury facts rather than correct their thinking?
What does this mean for you?
I am here to tell you that I believe you are a capable person. I believe in the ability to think for yourself, to understand, at least a basic level, problems and their solutions. I believe you should have the freedom to understand and chose your own path. But more than that, I believe that this “one size fits all” mentality from the experts is not the best solution for individuals. It is your life, and it should be ok for you to live it.
This week’s question:
Did you have a professor at college who did something distracting while they were teaching class? Leave the story (minus identifying details) in the comments. Next week we will get into why that was intentional and what was really going on.