"Caretake this moment. Immerse yourself in its particulars. Respond to this person, this challenge, this deed. Quit evasions. Stop giving yourself to needless trouble. It is time to really live; to fully inhabit the situation you happen to be in now." - Epictetus
(Warning: Philosophical and Grumpy Post)
Below: "Freedom from Want" by Norman Rockwell
Above, an image of who we think we are - and maybe who we once were. These days, I'm not sure this is who we are anymore.
I am beyond thankful for everything that I have in life. I grew up in near-poverty, and the fear of that never leaves you. I am
extremely blessed even by the standards of my own country -
but it has *always* seemed like a precarious position - as though the rug
could be pulled out at any moment.
That assessment of insecurity is probably
correct: A medical issue, a legal problem, an unguarded word to the wrong person, a job loss... any event or
anyone with enough ill will could bring your career - your source of income and prosperity - to an abrupt end. Because of that sense of uncertainty, I'm far less generous than I would otherwise be, out of concern that my family might someday need what I'd previously given away. You don't have to look very far, to see that there are many unpleasant alternatives to the Norman Rockwell scene, right here on the streets of America the Beautiful.
As we ponder turkey dinner, the Covid-19 pandemic in the US is ramping up to crisis levels. Critical care units in many parts of the US are at or above capacity, and Covid-19 triage is about to become commonplace.
For those who aren't familiar with the process, *triage* segregates incoming patients into three groups:
- Patients that are likely to survive with minimal or no treatment - those patients are turned away, and will hopefully survive without care.
- Patients that are likely to die with or without treatment - those patients are turned away to die.
- Patients that are likely to live if given medical care, and die if denied care. These are the patients that can be saved, and are the ones admitted into the hospital for medical care.
This is how they ration medical care on the battlefield, and how they are preparing to ration it now. This is one reason why it's a good idea to stay fit, so that if you find yourself in a triage situation, you end up in Group 1 or 3. If society is the RMS Titanic, then maintaining your health is one of the lifeboats.
A few words of advice about that homeless thing, from someone who has given it some thought: The best "camping" spots with privacy, water, and nearby toilets are already occupied by the pre-Covid homeless. Also, if you are a recently downwardly-mobile family, you won't fit in very well with the long-term homeless population. Dumpster-diving pickings are likely to be very slim these days in places where the homeless camps are located. Restaurants that remain solvent aren't serving as many customers, so there is less food waste.
Rather than moving to a tent-city, I would instead suggest "couch-surfing" - that is, temporarily staying with friends or relatives. Move on to stay with others, so as not to wear out your welcome - or camp in your car. But don't mingle with mentally ill and drug-addicted long-term homeless people. Typhus, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis and Bubonic Plague are making a comeback in homeless encampments, so steer clear unless you want to add a major infection to your family's problems.
Do your best to keep yourself and loved ones neat, clean, healthy, fed and warm. Nobody - certainly not in government - cares what happens to you. But they will be quick to take your children screaming and crying into custody - for their own good, of course. There is nothing so cruel as the powerful making someone's personal hell even more miserable - they excel at that.
This past week there has been a media frenzy. They've been moralizing and finger-wagging about a wedding in Brooklyn, where nobody wore a mask. We are all supposed to be angry about this selfish behavior.
That was a one-time event. However there is ongoing institutionalized spread of Covid-19. This spread goes on all day, every day, 24-7. These things don't seem to be getting anywhere near as much media rage.
I've also been informed that this should continue in spite of Covid-19:
But that this should not:
Activism disguised as "news" is getting really old. It sucks having a smidgeon of logic in an era of blatant political propaganda.
If I glance at the Yahoo! front page headlines, my blood pressure goes up 20 points - So I don't (except that I just glanced when I linked it, and my blood pressure is up). It isn't news - it's emotional manipulation, which I find incredibly irritating. For the same reason, I can't watch TV any more - the programming is just too manipulative. The information they leave out is usually far more important than what they present - never important topics, and never an in-depth discussion. But they will tell you all about that wedding in Brooklyn for 10 minutes.
In the face of all of this, it's important to make a special effort to avoid becoming numb. Numb to the increased suffering of my countrymen and women, and indeed all human beings. It's a crazy-making situation - we have the most powerful and wealthy government the world has ever seen, yet it mostly ignores the serious plight of vulnerable citizens to whom it's constitutionally pledged to support.
How exactly does one go about the "pursuit of happiness", when they've become homeless, due to lack of available work, yet pallets of cash were available to hand over to random foreigners? We can do better than this, and we should be better than this.
OK, I'm done.
Happy Thanksgiving. I mean that sincerely.
I wish us all to be happy and blessed - healthy, prosperous, and keeping good company.
1 comment:
I enjoyed reading this post. Would be nice to talk about it more, when we are able to get together.
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